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A Houghton County man could be facing charges stemming from a prank that may have gone a little too far.
Authorities say the man placed a dead animal on display at Swedetown Park in Calumet, and residents in the area did not find it funny.
Long time Calumet resident, Jo Ann Peters has a morning routine that she follows everyday.
First it’s a cup of coffee at the local Burger King, then it’s off to Swedetown park where she walks her dog, Jake.
Recently though, Jo Ann and Jake made a gruesome discovery here at the park.
“I come out here every morning, sit and look at either the deer or the ducks or the geese or whatever’s out here. But when I backed out about 20 minutes later I saw this young deer—dead, draped over a rock and he had a beer can stuffed in his mouth. His throat was slit and he had gloves on his front hoofs. It was not a good sight.”
So Jo Ann contacted the Michigan State Police, who directed the case to the DNR.
Conservation officer Dennis Gast says that he believes the deer was a road kill animal that was picked up and brought to the park where it was placed on a boulder, desecrated and staged as a distasteful prank.
“What bothers me the most is it isn’t the fact that the deer is dead. It’s the fact that what happened to him before he died. Animals do get bumped all the time and you feel bad about it but this was not right.”
Officer Gast says the investigation is continuing and they do have a suspect who could be facing misdemeanor and civil infraction charges for possessing a road kill animal without a permit and also for littering.
