IZEE – A hunter who said he fired two shots to scare wildlife away from some other hunters in the woods was cited last Friday, Sept. 19.

Oregon State Police responded about 5:50 p.m. to a complaint that a man, frustrated that hunters had encroached on his hunting area and spooked the game from there, had fired his .270 Winchester at the ground. The incident occurred on Forest Service Road 519, in an area northeast of the Izee Highway, west of Seneca.

The man told police he was finishing up a bow-hunting trip at the time. Police said the man’s wanted to scare off both the hunters and the wildlife that might be in the area.

The man then jumped into his pickup truck and sped away from the area. Two hunters from Seneca, Warren Wilson and Dan Nugent, heard the shots and ran out of the trees onto the dirt roadway, only to see a pickup truck headed their way. They told police they ran off the road to get out of the path of the truck.

John Day Police Officer Danny Komning located the driver of the truck on Highway 26 at the west city limits and detained him.

Nicholas A. Carkhuff Clarno, 26, of Redmond, was cited for obstructing the taking of wildlife. Police took the rifle for evidence.

OSP Troopers Tom Hutchison and Marv Ritter, and Grant County Sheriff’s Dep. Chris McKenna all responded to the call.