Man accused of illegally killing deer

Massive buck shot on state property

One day, the potentially record-setting 23-point buck was posing for selfies with a sheriff’s deputy. Twenty-four hours later, the massive deer was dead — fatally shot, investigators say, by a Miami man who is now in trouble with the law.

On state property in Indiantown Wednesday night, Martin County Deputy Kevin Kryzda noticed a dark truck in a wooded area and saw someone shining a spotlight on a deer, the sheriff ’s office said.

The truck sped away as Kryzda approached, but it was later stopped by a backup deputy who arrived at the scene. A short time later, a sheriff ’s office helicopter spotted a large antlered deer carcass in the wooded area where the truck had been.

“Deputies determined that the buck was recently shot by what appeared to be a high-caliber rifle,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook posting.

The man who had been stopped in the truck, Mario Enrique Palacio, was visibly nervous.

“Palacio was sweating even though the air-conditioning in his truck was running and his hands were covered in sand and his clothes were covered in grass,” a Martin County sheriff’s arrest report said.

“Palacio further had a difficult time answering where he was going or where he was coming from,” the report said.

Inside Palacio’s truck, deputies found a bow, arrows, a spotlight and a spent shell casing from a .30-06 rifle, according to the report.

With assistance from a state wildlife officer and a sheriff’s K9, “investigators located a .30-06 rifle in the area where Palacio was seen,” the sheriff’s office said.

Palacio, 54, was arrested and charged with two felonies, trespass on a construction site, and trespass by lethal projectile.

He was ordered held in Martin County’s Jail on a bond of $5,000 records show.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident and additional state charges are likely, officials said.

Coincidentally, the male deer Palacio is accused of killing was in a picture taken by deputy Kryzda the night before it was found dead.

“Our deputies, who are also avid sportsmen, keep close tabs on the local whitetail deer herd,” the sheriff’s office Facebook posting said.

The dead buck’s carcass is being processed for purposes of legal evidence. Meanwhile, an official Boone and Crockett Club scoring professional is scheduled to assess the deer to see where it fits into the state record class.

The deer’s meat “has been donated to a local facility,” the sheriff’s office said.