CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — Two area men are facing charges for allegedly conspiring to illegally harvest a deer in Elk Township, Clarion County.
Court documents indicate the PA Game Commission filed criminal charges against 48-year-old Richard Allen Mittica Jr., of Sigel, and 48-year-old Greg S. Hilliard, of Saxonburg, in District Judge Jarah Lee Heeter’s office on Friday, March 8.
According to criminal complaints, State Game Warden Sean Lauer received information from an anonymous tip on November 26, 2023, detailing unlawful activities related to hunting along Millerstown Road in Shippenville, Elk Township, Clarion County.
The tip included information that Richard Mittica, who currently has his hunting privileges revoked until July 30, 2027, was unlawfully hunting while on revocation. It was reported that he was hunting on a property in the 1700 block of Millerstown Road, the complaint states.
It was also reported that Mittica asked Greg Hilliard to buy a license for the 2023-24 license year so he would have kill tags to put on the deer he harvested. The report continued that Mittica had already killed a deer and took it to a processor, the complaint indicates.
Warden Lauer interviewed the property owner’s son, who confessed that Mittica killed an antlerless deer on the property during archery season. The known male said, “he tagged it, he had a license, and he tagged it,” the complaint notes.
On December 1, Warden Lauer interviewed Mittica, who denied killing a deer on the property. Mittica then “fabricated a narrative” saying his stepson, who is a juvenile male, killed an antlerless deer on the property and that his friend, Hilliard, killed an antlerless deer in Clear Creek State Park, according to the complaint.
Warden Lauer then contacted the owner of a known meat market, who provided a picture of a wild game processing sheet from archery season for a deer under Hilliard’s name. Hilliard’s name, address, and his hunter CID were on the form. However, the name “Rick” along with Mittica’s phone number was listed in the cell phone number section of the form. Both deer described by Mittica would have been unlawfully taken as the juvenile male did not possess the correct antlerless deer privilege to harvest a deer at the property, and Hilliard did not possess the required archery privilege to kill a deer during archery season, the complaint states.
On December 9, Warden Lauer met with Mittica and Hilliard, who both provided false statements—both verbally and written—as they described a narrative where Hilliard killed a deer during archery season in Clear Creek State Park, and the juvenile male killed a deer on the Millerstown Road property. The unlawfulness of Hilliard’s supposed deer was explained to both men, who continued to insist that they were telling the truth, the complaint indicates.
Mittica produced a pre-packaged box of meat already removed from his freezer, including hot dogs, ground meat, a backstrap, and a tenderloin. Mittica claimed that the meat was from the deer Hilliard had killed. The meat was confiscated, the complaint notes.
In an additional interview on January 4, Mittica again claimed that the juvenile male shot an antlerless deer at the Millerstown Road property. He was informed that the juvenile did not possess the required privilege to harvest an antlerless deer, but Mittica continued to insist that the juvenile male was the one who killed a deer on the Millerstown Road property. A stick of deer bologna was confiscated as Mittica claimed it was from the deer the juvenile harvested on the Millerstown property, the complaint states.
On January 11, Warden Lauer contacted a family member of Mittica, who admitted that he was being misled during the investigation and agreed to give a statement, the complaint indicates.
On January 12, Mittica was interviewed again and admitted to killing a deer at the Millerstown Road property during the 2023-24 season. He also confessed that Hilliard purchased a license and left it at his (Mittica’s) residence and that he (Mittica) used the license and tags to kill an antlerless deer, according to the complaint.
Mittica said he hunted on the Millerstown Road property once on October 28, 2023, and killed the first deer he saw at 7:05 a.m., which was a small antlerless deer. He said that he used a crossbow to shoot the deer, but he no longer owns it, the complaint notes.
Mittica also admitted that the deer they previously provided was old deer meat from his freezer, but he claimed that “some of the meat” was from the deer he shot at the Millerstown Road property, the complaint states.
Hilliard was then interviewed on January 20. He informed Warden Lauer that Mittica asked him to buy a hunting license for the 2023-24 season and that he purchased one around the time they first went on sale during the summer of 2023. Hilliard said his hunting license was left at the Mittica residence the weekend of August 12, 2023. He then said Mittica called him around the end of October and told him, “you got a deer,” the complaint indicates.
It was noted in the complaint that Hilliard told Warden Lauer that he was informed by Mittica that he killed an antlerless deer and tagged it with Hilliard’s tag. He then admitted that Mittica burned Hilliard’s hunting license.
Mittica was charged with the following:
– Tamper With/Fabricate Physical Evidence, Misdemeanor 2
– Conspiracy – Possess Rpt Card Lic Tag Another
– Conspiracy – False Or Fraud Stmt On Reports
– Take/Kill Big Game-Beyond Daily/Season Limits, Misdemeanor
– Hunt During Per Time Privil Rev, Summary 1
– Resisting/Interfering with officer – General off, Summary 1 (three counts)
– Taking/Possession Of Game Or Wildlife, Summary 2
– Hunt Without Securing License, Summary 3
– False Or Fraud Statement On Reports, Summary 4
– Possess Rpt Card Lic Tag Another, Summary 5
Hilliard was charged with the following:
– Conspiracy – Take/Kill Big Game-Beyond Daily/Season Limits, Misdemeanor
– Conspiracy – Lend License/Kill Tag
– Conspiracy – False Or Fraud Statement On Reports
– Take/Kill Big Game-Beyond Daily/Season Limits, Summary 1
– False Or Fraud Statement On Reports, Summary 4
– Lend License/Kill Tag, Summary 5
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for April 9, at 9:00 a.m., with Judge Heeter presiding.
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