Augusta man ordered to pay $2,500, loses hunting license after deer poaching case
11/13/2026
An Augusta man pleaded guilty Friday to seven violations tied to illegally hunting deer and shooting a weapon from a vehicle.
Dusty Bergman, 41, faced charges after authorities accused him of poaching four deer at night and out of season in 2024. According to the criminal complaint, Bergman admitted to killing a buck on Oct. 18, 2024, with a rifle, then registered the deer under his son’s account as being shot with a crossbow — at a time when gun deer season was not open. He also admitted to killing three more bucks over the course of about a week, a month later, shooting them at night with his crossbow from the driver’s seat window of his vehicle.
The court ordered Bergman to pay more than $2,500 in fines and revoked his hunting privileges for four years. As part of a deferred acceptance agreement, other charges will be dropped after two years if he meets all the requirements.