Woman who shot bucks sentenced

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A Two Harbors woman who accepted a plea agreement after being charged with hunting violations last season was sentenced at Lake County Court on Monday.

Valery Vawn Wright, 50, who took two large, frequently spotted bucks near Two Harbors’ Lakeview National Golf Course, had been charged with misdemeanors for hunting without a valid deer license, for having deer over the limit and hunting over a baited area during last November’s Minnesota fire arms deer hunt.

She was also charged with gross misdemeanors for transporting an illegally taken deer and for taking or possessing wild animals with a value of more than $1,000.

The case has been of local interest since hunters spotted the deer during the Two Harbors city bow hunt.

“Everyone was eying those bucks, said DNR Conservation Officer Dan Thomasen. The larger of the two deer had a restitution value of $1,000 and the other, $500.

Asked by Judge Michael Cuzzo if she had anything to say before her sentencing, Wright said simply, “No.”

Wright’s attorney, John Lind, told the court that his client was embarrassed by the whole situation and just wanted to put it behind her.

Wright was sentenced to 180 days in Lake County Jail, plus a $50 fine and $85 in additional fees. The jail sentence was stayed for two years, during which Wright will be on supervised probation. Conditions of probation include 80 hours of community service to be completed in the next six months, the completion of an advanced hunter training class and the payment of $1,500 restitution to the DNR.

Those conditions must be met before a reduction in the supervisory level of probation will be considered, Cuzzo said.

Tags: news, crime