By Kathryn Reed

Two Markleeville men face multiple charges related to illegally hunting deer in Alpine County.

“This is about as egregious as anything we deal with, second only to wildlife trafficking,” Lt. Chris Stoots with California Department of Fish and Wildlife told Lake Tahoe News.

Ramsey Horse, 29, and William Berreman, 26, are accused of spotlighting, which is when hunters use a flashlight or the headlights to locate deer at night. This is where the phrase “a deer in headlights” comes from.

“They freeze, they are confused and they have lights shining in their eyes. They lock up and they are susceptible to being killed,” Stoots explained.

As nocturnal animals deer see extremely well at night – in the dark.

This is the time of year when deer rut and they find habitat out of the snow; a safe place to spend winter. It’s an easy shot because so many are in one spot and they have other things on their mind besides survival.

This investigation started in fall 2015 with reports of shots being fired at night. A warden set up surveillance cameras near Diamond Valley and Airport Roads, which led him to the suspects last week.

It is not known how many deer the men may have killed in this illegal fashion.

If found guilty, the two could fact a $1,000 fine and six months in jail for each of the four counts.