WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) - A Vermont man is facing charges he shot at a deer decoy in Cavendish and then fled, leading law enforcement officers on a pursuit into Weathersfield that caused at least one vehicle to go off the roadway, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife said Wednesday.
Robert Hagar, 48, of Windsor, appeared in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to charges of felony attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, being a felon in possession of a firearm, taking big game in closed season and shooting from a public highway.
The incident on Saturday began when Hagar allegedly fired from within the cab of his truck at a deer decoy after legal shooting hours, Fish and Wildlife said.
Wardens say they tracked Hagar approximately three miles to a residence in Weathersfield, where they seized the truck Hagar had been driving.
If convicted of the charge of attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, Hagar could be sentenced to five years in prison. The other charges carry lesser penalties.
Hagar’s attorney Michelle Kainen said Fish and Wildlife did not identify any individual or the vehicle beyond the basic description of a white truck leaving the area.
“There are more questions than not,” she said Wednesday.