Former Governor Jim Justice (left) swears in Brent McMillion (right) as DNR Director | Gov. Jim Justice's Office
In something of an “inside job”, a West Virginia Division of Natural Resources employee found himself on what some believe to be the lighter side of punishment after illegally downing a Hampshire County buck. The state-employed wildlife specialist ended up pleading no contest to the allegations against him, and in doing so, seems to have avoided the brunt of the potential penalties.
According to DNR Director Brent McMillion, 37-year-old Geoffrey Brinker, a Wildlife Resources Specialist assigned to the agency’s District 2 office in Romney, was cited during last year’s gun season. After dropping a 7-point whitetail, Brinker was found to be without a Class RG resident or Class RRG nonresident gun deer hunting stamp and failed to electronically register his recent kill.
On December 4, 2025, he was handed three misdemeanor charges for the dead deer and had to answer to those charges back in May inside a Hampshire County Magistrate Court. After entering his plea, Brinker was handed an assessed fine of $1,119.44 and was free to go on about his life, which included his job with the state’s DNR.
The citation described the animal as a 7-point buck with an inside spread of 20.25 to 20.5 inches. Under state code, an illegally taken deer carries a $500 replacement value but in the case of antlered deer who just so happen to have an inside spread of 20 inches or more, they trigger an enhanced replacement cost of $10,000. In addition to the $10,500 (total) fine value, these trophy cases can also be saddled with a possible five-year suspension of hunting and fishing privileges.
That gap between the statutory schedule and the fine paid in magistrate court drew attention on social media last month and prompted McMillion to address the case.
On Tuesday of last week, the DNR’s Director made a public statement regarding the math used in the Brinker case. Stating that his officers have discretion and that when a rack is considered to be “on the small side of ‘trophy,’” they ask whether a magistrate will actually run the enhanced fee. Although he would not speak for the citing officer, he expressed his suspicion that the officer did not believe the deer met “the true definition of a trophy.”
“Officers have a level of discretion and when racks are on the small side of ‘trophy’ definition, they look at it and try to determine if a magistrate is going to pass it through,” McMillion said. “I can’t speak for the officer, but my suspicion is he looked at it and didn’t believe it met the true definition of a trophy.”
Amid a bit of socially-fueled backlash, McMillion said Brinker is not a law-enforcement officer and is treated as a classified state employee under ordinary Division of Personnel rules.
“If it’s a DNR employee in a particular position of law enforcement, that might be the case, but this gentleman doesn’t fall into that category,” he said. “He’s just a standard, classified state employee under standard DOP rules and policy.”
The director said the violations did not occur on the job, did not affect Brinker’s work performance and were not in his area of assignment.
“He paid his fine through the magistrate court system and the case is closed,” McMillion said. He added that the agency may want employees held to a higher standard, but that basic employment rights still apply.
