Prineville Man Pleads Innocent To ‘Serial’ Deer Killing

A Prineville man arrested by Oregon State Police on charges of “serial” deer killing pleaded not guilty Thursday after his indictment on 22 wildlife charges earlier in the day by a Crook County grand jury.

Circuit Judge Daniel Ahern set a June 3 pre-trial conference for Ronald Livermore, 60, said District Attorney Gary Williams. William Condron was appointed as his defense attorney.

State Police arrested Livermore last Friday on 40 charges in connection with numerous found dead and left to waste along forest roads north of Prineville in recent years. He was released from the Crook County Jail on Monday after posting 10 percent of his $25,000 bail.

Williams said the grand jury indicted Livermore on numerous felony charges, including eight counts each of unlawful taking of, and waste of a game mammal, two counts of hunting with a revoked license, and one each of count of hunting with the aid of a spotlight, unlawful possession of a short-barreled rifle, unlawful possession of a silencer and attempted sexual assault of an animal.

Several of the charges are Class B felonies, Williams said,because Livermore was convicted three years ago of unlawful taking of a game animal.

The DA said Ahern imposed several conditions for Livermore’s continued release, including that he “cannot hunt any type of game, for any reason, and cannot possess any firearms.”

Last August, an OSP aircraft helped spot a suspect in the general area north of Prineville where more than a dozen dead deer had been found over the past several years.

Fish and wildlife troopers contacted Livermore and said they found he had a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle with a home-built silencer hidden in a special compartment in the trunk. OSP forensics investigators later determined some of the deer were killed with such a gun.

OSP fish and wildlife investigators said they believe Livermore, who says he’s primarily a vegetarian, usually would drive around in the dark, shining his spotlight, and would shoot when he saw eyes, then drive on looking for more. Many of the dead deer were either pregnant or had recently given birth.