Man who killed 37-pointer facing eight charges

Illinois deer hunter Chris Kiernan, who three years ago nearly re-wrote the state record books with a 37-point buck that scored 261 5/8 inches, will face at least eight counts stemming from illegal hunting of the that deer and a handful of others he killed.

Kiernan was indicted by a Grundy County Circuit Court grand jury on charges stemming from alleged illegal hunting of a protected species between November 2009 and May 2011 while on the property of Material Service Corporation in Kendall County.

Kiernan was originally charged with unlawfully taking 24 deer in Illinois and Canada over 10 years.

The Grundy County Grand Jury handed down the below charges:

• Three counts of carrying for profit or commercial purposes a protected species, a Class 3 felony, for unlawfully possessing a 16-point white tail deer, 10-point white tail deer, and 11-point white tail deer.
• Two counts of killing for profit or commercial purposes a protected species, a Class 3 felony, for unlawfully killing a 36-point white tail deer and an 11-point white tail deer.

• Three counts of possessing for profit or commercial purposes a protected species, a Class 3 felony, for unlawfully possessing a 36-point white tail deer, an 11-point white tail deer, and a 13-point white tail deer.