STUART, Fla. — It’s been just about nine months since the head of a 23-point buck was placed into an evidence freezer at the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
“It was a massive deer. It’s just not typical or common in the southeast, especially in the state of Florida," said Martin County Sheriff's Office Capt. Bill Dowdy.
A Miami-Dade County man, Mario Palacio, was arrested but recently struck a plea deal for 18 months probation, a fine, and the surrendering of a Winchester rifle.
So what’s going to happen to the deer head?
“What we do is hold that evidence in case they have an appeal process. If they want to come back later, the evidence is still there," said Dowdy.
Some businesses had offered money to get a mold made of the deer head. Those transactions likely won’t happen.
“Once case is over, we’ll get clearance from a judge to remove it from evidence and have it destroyed," added Capt. Dowdy.
While Mario Palacio won’t do any jail time, he won’t be in a state publication anymore. The 2018-19 edition of the Fish and Wildlife’s Hunting Regulationsmagazine had Palacio smiling prominently holding a harvested deer.
That picture is gone in the 2019-2020 edition.
“Our guys are out there to take care of the animals and prevent them from being taken out of season when they’re not supposed to be," said Capt. Dowdy.
