Andrew Perry Melton

In poor judgement, I hunted deer without a license not thinking that I was going to even see a buck. I did in fact see a buck, decided to take the shot, and killed it. I have never seen a game warden in my lifetime, and as bad luck would have it, as I was dragging the deer towards my truck, a game wa...rden drove up. Busted. The game warden wrote up the citations, but did not specifically call them out, but instead would allow the prosecuting attorney to decide how to cite them. In aggregate, they could have put me in jail for 365 days, up to a $10,000 fine, and a gross misdemeanor on my record. I contacted Mr. Melton and he immediately he claimed that hunting infractions were his expertise, that I shouldn’t be worried, and that he would get a reduced sentence. He was very kind and friendly, knew the law, and knew the hunting industry. Instead of waiting for the prosecuting attorney to charge me with the four citations and then negotiate the charges down, Mr. Melton proactively negotiated with the prosecuting attorney before he formally filed charges against me, resulting in me being charged with only one of four counts, a gross misdemeanor for illegal hunting of big game. No jail time. Two years hunting probation. Fine of $2500. Before the trial, Mr. Melton advised his approach on his strategy. He would indirectly try and get the judge to defer the sentence once my probationary time had been served. The challenge was that Mr. Melton could not overtly ask the judge for it because there was already an agreement in place with the prosecuting attorney and the prosecuting attorney could revoke the agreement. At the trial, the judge accepted the prosecuting attorney’s charges. I was granted an opportunity to state anything I wanted to say. I acknowledged that I made a serious mistake in judgement, was a professional, no prior criminal history, father, and in good standing in the community. I asked that given my circumstances, that judge would consider derring my sentence once my probationary period was up. He grated that. Without the coaching by Mr. Melton, I would have no known that was even an option or something I could ask for at the time of trial. In the end, I was very fortunate at the outcome. After two years of probation, the sentence will be dropped and the only consequence for me is a hard lesson learned, two years probation from hunting, and a fine of $2500. It could have been a lot worse. I am very grateful for the legal acumen of Mr. Melton, his network within the hunting industry, and his tenacity, strategy, insight, and friendliness.