Moorhead Man Charged With Chasing Deer On Boat Until It Drowned

MAHNOMEN, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a Moorhead man with animal cruelty and chasing a wild animal with a motor vehicle for allegedly chasing a deer with a pontoon boat until it drowned.

Fifty-five-year-old Steven William Timm was charged in Mahnomen County on Tuesday with two misdemeanor counts stemming from an incident on Tulaby Lake on Sept. 6. Witnesses told a conservation officer they saw a man chase a swimming buck with a pontoon boat until it died.

The Department of Natural Resources incident report says Timm told the officer he was trying to steer the deer back to shore, not hurt it.

Timm's first court appearance is set for Oct. 29.

A man answering the phone number listed for Timm in the incident report denied he was Timm and hung up.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)