Authorities: Suspect in shooting of wildlife officer has past felony conviction, not legally allowed to use firearms

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WILMINGTON — The deer poacher accused of accidentally shooting a wildlife officer has a past felony conviction for vehicular homicide and is not legally allowed to possess firearms, authorities stated.

On Sunday, Dec. 20, the three suspects were believed to have been driving on Macedonia Road in Martinsville when they spotted a buck deer in the woods nearby, according to an affidavit from the Clinton County Municipal Court.

One of the suspects — Brian Liming, 43, of Xenia — exited the vehicle, went into the woods, and fired a shot at it, the affidavit states.

“Mr. Liming reports he heard someone screaming so he ran and he found a man with a gunshot wound. The man yelled at Mr. Liming to call 911,” the affidavit states.

Liming allegedly ran out of the woods, told another suspect to call 911, then he “got nervous and fled the scene on foot.”

He would later come out of the woods and he turned himself into law enforcement officials.

Kevin Behr, a 25 year veteran of the ODNR’s Division of Wildlife, sustained serious injuries and was transported to a trauma center via medical helicopter.

ODNR spokesperson Stephanie O’Grady told the News Journal Monday that Behr underwent a second surgery on Monday. When reached Thursday for any updates, she stated, “Out of respect for the privacy of Officer Behr and his family, ODNR is not commenting on his condition at this time. We hope you will join us in praying for a full recovery.”

Authorities stated they found a box of 20-gauge shotgun shells belonging to Liming, and a used shotgun shell was found on the suspect.

The affidavit notes that Liming was previously convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide in Greene County. According to the Greene County Common Pleas Court, he pled guilty in 2005 and was sentenced to four years in jail.

Because of this prior conviction, Liming was also found in violation of heaving a weapon while under disability for the Sunday incident.

Bryan Achtermann, 36, of Midland, had entered a neighboring property to shoot “any deer driven toward him by Brian Liming” the affidavit states. Both of them allegedly admitted to either tagging a deer already or hunting without a license. The affidavits also indicate neither had permission to hunt on the respective properties.

Thomas Davis, 35, of Jamestown, was driving the truck the other two suspects were in “with known intent to unlawfully hunt deer without permission from the land owner,” according to the affidavit.

All three suspects are scheduled to be arraigned in Clinton County Municipal Court on Tuesday.

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By John Hamilton

[email protected]

Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574

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