A 70-year-old Baldwin City man has been charged with four misdemeanor counts after he was accused of illegally shooting a decoy deer during a December 2011 sting operation.

The sting was conducted by the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism on Dec. 9, the last Friday of the firearm deer hunting season. KDWPT officials had placed the decoy on private land in Douglas County, according to Andy Terhune, Douglas County game warden. The officers used a life-size, taxidermied deer to entice would-be poachers.

“It looks exactly like a white-tailed buck,” Terhune said.

After spotting the decoy from the road, Terhune said the suspect stopped his vehicle and shot it from inside his car. Officers then approached him and took his information. The man, Darrell R. Norris, was not arrested at the scene, Terhune said. Norris pleaded not guilty during his first appearance Thursday afternoon, and he later was booked into jail and released on $500 bond. Prosecutors have filed four misdemeanor charges, including criminal hunting alleging he did not have permission to hunt on the land.

A hearing is scheduled for April 9.