KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — A high-ranking field officer at Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP) faces several charges after the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) accused him of illegally shooting and killing a deer on U.S. Army land.
Court documents outline that Lt. Col. Randolph Carpenter, who is a commander at HSAAP, allegedly hunted down an 11-point buck from the passenger seat of a white government pick-up truck driven by his colleague, identified as Guy Hurd.
An affidavit filed in Hawkins County General Sessions Court in June reports that a camera captured the Dec. 19, 2021 incident, which involved three HSAAP employees — Carpenter, Hurd and James Duff.
While the trio was in the government vehicle driven by Hurd, Duff allegedly handed a crossbow to Carpenter, who fired two shots at the deer from inside the pick-up truck. Duff then helped Carpenter drag the deer’s body to the pick-up.
“Mr. Carpenter was not wearing any blaze orange, which is required by law during an open rifle season for big game…,” the court record states.
The TWRA charged the commander with hunting from a motor vehicle, illegal possession of big game and blaze orange violations. Duff faces the following charges: hunting from a motor vehicle and blaze orange violations.
Hurd’s charges, however, stem not only from the Dec. 19 incident but also from several other hunting violations that occurred in November and spanned to Kentucky.
Court records claim that on Nov. 12, Hurd, who does not have a Kentucky hunting license, used a crossbow to kill and later harvest a six-point buck in Kentucky but checked it out as a Tennessee harvest.
“Mr. Hurd then transported the deer back into the state of Tennessee to process and clean it,” court documents state.
Over a month later on Dec. 17, Hurd reportedly harvested a 10-point buck inside the HSAAP grounds and had the deer checked out three days later on Dec. 20.
Hurd faces the following charges: two counts of illegal tagging of big game; illegal possession of big game; possession of wildlife illegally acquired, taken or transported from the state or country of origin; hunting from a motor vehicle and blaze orange violations.
News Channel 11 reached out to the Joint Munitions Commands (JMC), which oversees HSAAP. A spokesperson said they are aware of the charges, and JMC does not plan to take disciplinary actions against the commander and two other employees.
According to a bio listed on the HSAAP website, Carpenter is an Ohio native who has worked as the commander at the plant since September 2020.
