Man held for trial in deer case
Richard A. Bartoletti of Oakdale, accused of shooting a deer from his vehicle at Washington Cemetery in October, is shown leaving his preliminary hearing Monday in Washington.
Cissy Cameron of Washington took this photo of a nine-point buck, just hours before it was killed in Washington Cemetery.
Elaine Strnisha, accused of illegally purchasing a hunting license for a man accused of shooting a deer in Washington Cemetery, had her hearing postponed Monday in Washington.
A North Fayette Township man was ordered Monday to stand trial on charges he illegally shot a nine-point buck in Washington Cemetery with a compound bow.
Richard A. Bartoletti, 48, of 7419 Noblestown Road, Oakdale, was ordered held for court by Judge Robert Redlinger on charges of illegally shooting game from a vehicle, shooting a weapon in a cemetery, unlawful killing of big game, having a loaded weapon in a vehicle, using food to entice game and possessing a tag that belongs to another person.
Elaine Strnisha, 49, of 221 S. Central Ave., Canonsburg, who also was cited by the state Game Commission, had her hearing continued to allow her to get an attorney. She is charged with illegally purchasing a hunting license Bartoletti had in his possession when apprehended by the Game Commission. Bartoletti was prohibited from getting his own hunting license after pleading guilty earlier this year to game law violations.
Kelly McClelland testified he contacted state Game Commission Officer Daniel Sitler about Bartoletti’s alleged plan to shoot a deer at the cemetery in North Franklin Township Oct. 11. McClelland said Bartoletti picked him up and they went to the cemetery looking for two deer, one an eight-point buck and the other a nine-point.
Ray Szalanski testified he got a call from Bartoletti in early October inquiring if Canonsburg Sportsman’s Club was having a big buck contest because he had found a “Bullwinkle” in a cemetery in Avella.
McClelland said he and Bartoletti were driving around, feeding the deer in the cemetery Oct. 11, when they saw the nine-point. He said Bartoletti stopped his pickup truck. McClelland said he got the bow from the back seat of the truck and handed it to Bartoletti.
“He was holding bread and whistling,” McClelland said. “The deer started walking toward us. When (the buck) was about 20 yards away, he shot it outside the driver’s side window of the truck.”
About 10 minutes after the deer was shot, the men were stopped by game officers.
McClelland said he told the Game Commission of Bartoletti’s plans back in January as well as in October because he “got nailed” a few years ago when Bartoletti allegedly left him to take the fall in a previous game law violation case. Under cross-examination by public defender Rose Semple, McClelland said he was left stranded to take the “rap” and that he was angry. He also said he did not believe Bartoletti was hunting the “right way.”
Sitler said he received information from McClelland the two would be at the cemetery looking for bucks to shoot. Sitler and several other game officers staked out the cemetery watching for them.
About 6 p.m., Sitler said he saw McClelland’s truck enter the cemetery. About 40 minutes later, he was notified a deer was down. The deer was considered a trophy animal.
When asked by Semple if he made any attempt to stop Bartoletti, Sitler responded he did not.
When McClelland was stopped in the cemetery, Sitler said he saw a crossbow in the bed of the truck and also found a hunting license in the vehicle with Strnisha’s name on it.
Sitler told District Attorney Gene Vittone the public likes to feed deer in the cemetery, so the animals are “habituated” to the feeding. He said while it is not a good idea, people bring bread, apples and even shovels of corn to feed the wildlife.
Bartoletti is scheduled for formal arraignment Feb. 24
In an unrelated matter, Sitler also filed charges against a second hunter who allegedly fired shots from a vehicle earlier this month on McConnells Mill Road in Chartiers Township. Roger Lee Bouch, 64, of Friedens, Somerset County, was issued citations for unlawfully hunting a deer from a vehicle, firing a gun in a safety zone and shooting too close to the road stemming from the Dec. 6 incident. The charges were sent by summons from the office of District Judge David Mark.