Coyote or warden? Ohio man wearing body armor tells PA official he couldn't tell difference
An Ohio man who said he was hunting coyotes in northeastern Pennsylvania while wearing body armor is now facing multiple charges after he and another man fired at a game warden, according to arrest records and court documents.
The incident occurred around noon on Nov. 25 in a hunting area in Pike County, Pennsylvania, near the New York State line, in the northeastern portion of the state.
According to documents provided to The Dispatch, a game warden and deputy game warden were in the area on that day, which was the first day of deer rifle season. The game warden heard bullets flying close by as he and his deputy spoke with another hunter, an affidavit says.
"With just enough time to comment about what we just heard, a barrage of bullets began to fly closely around us," the warden wrote in his statement, saying the trio hit the ground and took cover, seeing branches falling close by after being struck.
The warden said he managed to get inside his cruiser and turn the siren on, and the gunfire stopped almost immediately.
The warden and his deputy went to the area where they thought the gunshots originated and encountered 44-year-old Roman Kartsev of Columbus' Far North Side and a man from Brooklyn, NY. According to the affidavit, Kartsev wore an orange hat and body armor and carried a pistol.
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The other man was wearing an orange vest and a ballistic helmet and was carrying an AK47-style rifle, according to the affidavit.
The game officials spoke to the men who allegedly said they were "shooting at movement assuming they were shooting at a coyote." Kartsev said he had been wearing the body armor in case another hunter shot at him, according to the affidavit.
The men said they had not gone into the woods to see if they had actually struck a coyote and when they showed the officials where they had been standing when they fired, it was in the approximate area where the gunfire toward the game wardens had originated, according to the affidavit.
The men said they were new hunters and had taken training courses online. They said they fired at the movement they thought was a coyote, emptying full clips. They fired 15 rounds from the handgun, and 30 from the rifle, according to the affidavit.
Neither weapon is permitted for deer hunting, and the men did not have the proper licenses for using the weapons for fur-taking, according to the affidavit.
Both men face multiple criminal charges, including recklessly endangering another person, discharging a firearm at random, using a semiautomatic rifle or pistol and multiple hunting violations.
The men were issued summons to appear in court and are scheduled to have hearings in early February.
@bethany_bruner
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Coyote or game warden? Ohio man charged in PA for shooting at officials
