WAUPACA, Wis. (WHBL) - A Waupaca man will spend six months in jail and two-and-a-half years on probation for killing deer with his snowmobile. 26-year-old Nicholas Hermes was sentenced yesterday. He pleaded no contest to three felony counts of animal mistreatment, and three counts of hunting deer out-of-season. Four similar charges were dropped in a plea deal. Hermes was one of three people who ran down a half-dozen deer on a snowmobile trail near Weyauwega (why-uh-wee’-guh) in January of 2009. The case drew national attention. The landowner closed the trail, forcing others to ride miles out of their way. Animal rights’ groups condemned the attack. And statewide snowmobile groups were put on the defensive, as they spoke up for the integrity of their sport. Besides the jail and probation, Hermes must pay 62-hundred dollars in fines and court costs. He was the second person to be sentenced in the case. Last year, 27-year-old Rory Kuenzi was given an 11-year prison sentence – but it did not result in any additional time on top of a 23-year sentence he was already serving for the hit-and-run traffic death of Kevin McCoy in 2004. The final defendant, Kuenzi’s 26-year-old brother Robby, is scheduled to go on trial April third.
