Equal treatment in question
by MCL staff writer

In an interview with the three subjects that were cuffed, arrested and taken to the Decatur County Jail are the following statements:

Hugh Franklin, a Decatur County resident, planted milo for dove hunting, and wild pigs started rooting up the field. Franklin contacted a DNR ranger asking if it was legal to hunt wild hogs at night. The ranger stated that it was, as long as it wasn't deer season as understood by Mr. Franklin.

Rifle season came in on Saturday, so on Friday night, Jason Wells, Hugh Franklin and Jeff Nunnery went to hunt hogs with a spotlight. They shined a field with no intentions of ever shooting a deer. Wells killed four deer the year before, Franklin killed two, and Nunnery hasn't deer hunted in 15 years or more.

While shining the field, they saw a green truck (Department of Natural Resources) where Wells hunted. Mr. Wells told Franklin to turn around and see who that was in the field near Wells' deer stand. When the men turned, the men were blue-lighted. DNR ranger, Jeff Phillips asked Mr. Wells who he was, and Jason Wells told the officer that he was the Assistant Police Chief in Colquitt.

Officer Phillips replied, "Mmmmm I hate to hear that."

The three men stated that they never saw a deer or any game for that matter, but the (DNR) officer claimed they were hunting deer which he can't prove and haven't proved. The three men were charged with hunting deer. "DNR ranger Tony Cox even stated that they didn't know if we were hunting hogs, deer or what," the men said.

"I said, that it's his job to prove we are hunting deer, not our job to prove we were not hunting deer," Wells stated.

The three men were made to post bond at the Decatur County Jail.

According to incident reports, two days later, a prominent citizen in Colquitt was charged with hunting deer at night by the (DNR) officers, but they wrote him tickets and released him. This included DNR officer Jeff Phillips.

"That in itself is not treating suspects alike," the men stated.

The three suspects charged in Decatur County have contacted an attorney and will not enter a plea of not guilty to these charges in the State Court of Decatur County according to the interview.

"We know most farmers have rifles in their trucks and spotlights to check cows and irrigations, but according to DNR you are hunting deer if you shine the light in a field and have a gun in the truck during deer season. Just keep this in mind because they will take you to jail depending on who you are I guess," stated the suspects charged in Decatur County.