An Alabama man who operated as a hunting guide in Crittenden and Livingston counties has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in Livingston County and faces 29 more charges in Crittenden District Court, many of them involving wildlife violations.
William Daniel Hassett, 31, of Vincent, Ala., had originally faced a felony robbery and burglary charge in Livingston County for taking a deer out of the bed of a pickup belonging to an 18-year-old local man who had shot it last deer season. The charges were amended down recently in Livingston District Court.
According to court records, Hassett confronted Lane Champion at a public parking lot in Salem in November of 2016, alleging that Champion had improperly taken the deer from property he was leasing next to the Champion farm. An investigation found that Hassett pulled the deer out of Champion’s vehicle and put it in his own truck.
Champion told investigators that he shot the deer on his own property, and it ran a few yards onto the adjoining land owner and fell dead. Champion alleges that he retrieved the deer, loaded it into his pickup and drove to Salem where he was confronted by Hassett.
Champion has not been charged in the matter; however, investigators confiscated the trophy buck he had taken.
Livingston County Attorney Raymond McGee said the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources conducted a “multi-month investigation” into the affairs and operations of Hassett’s alleged hunting service. Many of the charges in the two counties stem from that probe, which followed the encounter between Hassett and Champion last fall.
In Livingston County last week, Hassett’s original charges of robbery and theft were amended and merged, respectively, into one count of menacing to which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. The jail time was probated for two years.
He also pleaded guilty to a non-resident commercial license violation and two counts of making false entry or providing false information for a license. As part of his penalty, Hassett was fined $100 and ordered to make restitution to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Special Investigations Unit. He also forfeited his hunting privileges in Kentucky for three years. According to the court, Hassett forfeited about $10,000 in cash and property associated with the hunting service Axel Creek Outfitters.
In Crittenden County, Hassett is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on seven counts of illegal taking or pursuing a deer or wild turkey; eight counts of operating on a suspended or revoked operator’s license; one violation of the non-resident commercial license law; six counts of entry onto land to shoot, hunt, fish or trap without consent; two counts of taking wildlife from a vehicle; two counts of discharging a firearm across a public roadway; two counts of being a non-resident hunter or trapper without a license or permit; and one count of violating a hunting guide law that restricts the guide from taking wildlife while providing guide services if the guide is not properly licensed.
