Two men from southwestern Ontario have been convicted in connection with the illegal hunt of a deer on private property along Duck Lake Road in Minden in the fall of 2018.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) said on Aug. 11 that Luigi Centurami of Stoney Creek pleaded guilty to trespassing and possessing unlawfully killed wildlife. He was fined $6,000.
Steve Tsiliganos, also of Stoney Creek, pleaded guilty to trespassing, possessing a loaded firearm within eight metres of a roadway, and possessing illegally killed wildlife. He was fined $4,000.
The court heard that on Nov. 14, 2018, conservation officers investigated information of a deer that had been shot on private property along Duck Lake Road near the town of Minden.
“It was determined that Centurami and Tsiliganos were travelling together in a pickup truck along the road when Tsiliganos exited the vehicle and shot a white-tailed deer on land that was posted as private property. Both individuals accessed the property to retrieve the deer,” the MNRF said.
The investigation involved a conservation officer canine unit, the OPP Forensic Identification Services, and the Trent University Wildlife DNA Forensics Lab.
Justice of the Peace, Mark Donohue, heard Centurami’s case remotely on May 24, 2023 and Justice of the Peace Herbert Radtke heard the Tsiliganos case remotely on October 17, 2022, both in the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay.
The MNRF said that to report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, members of the public can call the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222TIPS. For more information about unsolved cases, visit ontario.ca/mnrftips.
