BTW, it is illegal to spotlight deer in Alabama regardless if one has a gun in the vehicle or not.
I take back *part* of what I posted about thinking these guys' "deer hunting" excuse was bogus.
Yes, indeedy, they certainly *were* spotlighting while on their arson run. But it wasn't deer they bagged. Gave themselves away, too.
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[Bham News excerpts]
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1141986427286240.xml&coll=2
Web postings linked to the three - described as All-American college boys - and their friends indicate at least some penchant for partying, for drinking and hunting on the back roads of rural Bibb County.
Cloyd posted this on Moseley's Web page Jan. 9 at www.facebook.com: "To my dearest friend Moseley: The nights have grown long and the interstates of Alabama drunk driverless, the state troopers bored, the county sheriffs less weary, and the deer of Bibb County fearless. 2006 is here, it is time to reconvene the season of evil!"
......
Night hunting:
LeCroy said the trio may face state charges because they admitted to night hunting, which included shooting a cow on Feb. 3. The three could also face additional federal charges.
LeCroy said night hunting near some of the churches started to increase around Christmas.
"It seemed like it shifted into high gear," he said. "It wasn't just one group - there were several groups doing it."
Sometime in late fall, a cow was shot to death. Then, on the night of the first set of fires, a second cow was shot. LeCroy said he had to examine the dead cow but wasn't able to recover a bullet.
Shooting livestock was one of the clues that people from outside the area were involved, Lecroy said. "Most of the old time redneck hunters are just out to get them a deer. They don't usually bother the livestock."
LeCroy said there may be some outlaws among the locals, "but they were brought up not to mess with churches. Their grandma would whip them."
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(I think he meant "whup" but the reporter fixed it.)