On July 27, a Westchester County man appeared in the Town of Mamaroneck Court to answer charges from the illegal taking of a turkey from a roadway. Back on May 7, ECO Schneider responded to a call for assistance from Mamaroneck Police for reports of a turkey shot from the roadway at approximately 7 p.m.
Environmental Conservation Officer Schneider photographed the scene and spoke to a witness who described a van in the area at the time of the shooting and provided a license plate number. The following day, ECO Schneider turned the case over to ECO Tompkins who is assigned to Westchester County.
ECO Tompkins interviewed nearby residents who may have witnessed the incident and reviewed video from a homeowner with surveillance cameras pointed at the road where the turkey was believed to have been shot. The videos showed the turkey dead on the side of the road with the van in question stopped as a passenger exited the vehicle and picked it up. ECO Tompkins tracked down the owner of the van, identified as Mark Luceno of Mamaroneck, and spoke to him about the incident. When presented with the evidence, Luceno gave a full written confession describing how he shot the turkey from the side of the road with his compound bow while his wife drove. He was issued six tickets for illegally taking protected wildlife, taking a turkey during closed hours, use of a motor vehicle to take small game, discharging a bow from across a public highway, discharging a bow within 150 feet of a dwelling, and failure to tag a turkey as required by law.