One sentenced for poaching incident

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WILMINGTON — One of three suspects in the poaching incident during which a wildlife officer was shot was sentenced Thursday.

Bryan Achtermann, 36, entered a no-contest plea and was found guilty in April to charges of hunting without a license and hunting deer without a permit.

In Clinton County Municipal Court, he was sentenced to 10 days suspended jail time. Achtermann is prohibited from hunting for six years, and the rifle he had with him the night of the incident must be forfeited to law enforcement.

Achtermann is one of three people charged in relation to the December 2020 shooting of Wildlife Investigator Kevin Behr of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The other two are Brian Liming, 44, who is facing federal gun charges; and Thomas Davis, 35, who entered a not guilty plea to a charge of complicity.

Wildlife officers were investigating a deer poaching complaint in the area of Macedonia Road and Martinsville Road in the Martinsville area when the shooting occurred.

According to authorities, Liming had exited the vehicle he was in, went into a wooded area where Behr was and fired a shot at what he thought was a deer.

“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 later came out of the woods and he turned himself in to law enforcement officials.

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By John Hamilton

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