Former Marin Resident Guilty In Shooting Deaths Of Deer Eating His Plants
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) -- A former Tiburon man has pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a doe and a fawn in 2017.
Defense attorney Charles Dresow entered the pleas last Friday in Marin County Superior Court on behalf of Mark Dickinson, 55, who now lives in Chicago.
Dickinson pleaded guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and three California Department of Fish and Wildlife code violations, Dresow said.
Dickinson also wrote a letter of apology to residents of Marin County, according to Dresow.
He was sentenced to three years' probation, 16 days of community service and 30 days of home confinement. Dickinson also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, pay $10,000 to Marin Humane and $5,000 to the WildCare hospital in San Rafael, Dresow said.
Dresow said Wednesday morning that his client has taken responsibility for the two animal deaths and apologized to the community so everyone can move forward.
Dickinson shot a doe and a fawn with a pellet gun in the 2300 block of Mar East Street in Tiburon on Sept. 2, 2017, because they were eating his decorative plants, Tiburon police said.
The deer died and the fawn was still alive when police responded but it later died.
In a written statement in response to the sentencing, Marin Humane officials said, "We are heartened by how seriously animal cruelty is taken in Marin County and grateful to the Tiburon Police department and Marin County District Attorney's office for their work on this difficult case."