Deer killed by teens

IRAAN Four Iraan High students charged in the beating deaths of two deer will spend next semester in an alternative education program, the Iraan-Sheffield Independent School District’s superintendent said.

The male students, who range in age from 15 to 17, will go to school in an off-campus location for Disciplinary Alternative Education Placement, Superintendent Kevin Allen said.

“They don’t participate in any activities at school,” he said. “They cannot come on school grounds at any time.”

The students also have a plea hearing scheduled for Jan. 8 with Pecos County Justice of the Peace Cathy Ervine and Capt. Scott Davis of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

They face charges of hunting deer with illegal means and, because the incident took place at night, hunting deer in closed season, Davis said.

Both charges are Class C misdemeanors that carry $500 fines, he said.

“I’ve got my hopes (for the hearing), but we’ll just have to see,” Davis said.

The two students who are accused of actually killing the deer could also face civil restitution penalties, Davis said.

Allen said the boys likely trapped the deer in the baseball field’s bullpen during the beating. The animals were found Dec. 7.

The students will meet with school counselors and possibly psychological counselors, Allen said.

As the only students currently in Iraan’s alternative education program, the four boys will be schooled in a district-owned house usually reserved for teachers, Allen said.

Attorneys had to look into state laws before punishment could be handed out, Allen said.

“There’s not a law out there that says, ‘If you beat a deer to death, this is what happens,’ ” he said.

Davis, citing concerns that it could jeopardize the case, said he couldn’t repeat what the boys told him about why they beat the deer.

He said they’ve been cooperative and remorseful, which helped with determining the charges they face.

Still, it’s not a typical situation.

“It’s the first time I’ve come across it,” he said.