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Hunter fled when officials realized he's not permitted to have a gun

A deer hunter who fled when officials realized he wasn’t supposed to possess a firearm will spend up to 23 months in prison.

Michael L. Maycock, 29, of Kennerdell, Venango County, was arrested in December 2015 following a stop by the state game commission.

Two wildlife conservation officers spotted the defendant coming out of woods along Fenelton Road in Clearfield Township armed with a .30-06-caliber rifle, according to court documents.

The officers, while conducting a routine field check with Maycock and his hunting buddy, learned that the defendant did not have a valid hunting license.

The finding led to a criminal history check, which turned up his felony conviction, documents said. Court records showed he was convicted of felony trespass in 2005 in Armstrong County.

Based on the conviction, he was not permitted to possess a firearm.

The game commission officers also discovered that Maycock was wanted on a warrant for a parole violation.

While the officers were both momentarily in their agency vehicle, investigators said, Maycock got into his car and drove away.

Four days later, however, he landed in the Armstrong County Jail after being picked up by state police on his suspected probation violation.

In the Butler County case, Maycock pleaded guilty to a felony count of flight to avoid prosecution and a misdemeanor firearms violation. He was sentenced Thursday by Butler County Judge William Shaffer to the terms of a plea arrangement made earlier with Butler County prosecutors: 11 1/2 to 23 months in prison, and 18 months of probation.

In Armstrong County, the defendant has pleaded guilty to a case of theft, filed state police in November 2014.

Maycock in Butler County Court Thursday said he is scheduled to be sentenced in the Armstrong County case in October, and he already has been accepted into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program there.

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