Former Environmental Affairs Secretary Charged with Baiting Deer

Robert Durand, the former State Secretary of Environmental affairs, is saying he did not bait deer while hunting in Vemont, according to a report from The Boston Globe.

“It wasn’t my stand. It wasn’t my game camera. It wasn’t my apples,” Durand told the Globe in reference to apples that were at the base of a tree stand. “When I got up there, I realized there were apples below it. I should have gotten down when I saw the apples, but instead I stayed up there for a few minutes, and the wardens arrived shortly thereafter. But it wasn’t my stand. They know that.”

Durand is a former state representative and senator for Marlborough. He has plead not guilty to the charges, according to the Globe, and could face a maximum penalty that includes 60 days in prison and loss of the ability to hunt in Vermont for three years.