Texas Man Faces 74 Charges For Illegal Deer Hunting

Texas Game Wardens have filed 74 charges against a New Braunfels man accused of illegally killing at least 13 white-tailed bucks in south-central Texas between the fall of 2024 and through late summer 2025. Authorities allege that Darrell Maguire, 55, poached deer over 11 months in Comal, Bexar, and Hays counties, often shooting the animals with a crossbow from his vehicle, removing only the heads and leaving the carcasses to waste.

The investigation began in June 2025 after multiple white-tailed buck carcasses were discovered in Comal and Hays counties. Several of the incidents occurred in residential neighborhoods, where wardens recovered crossbow bolts from front yards and porches. Texas Game Wardens arrested Maguire in September on wildlife and drug possession charges. While executing the search warrant of his residence, wardens recovered evidence they say linked him to multiple poaching scenes.

As the investigation continued, wardens determined Maguire also exceeded the annual bag limit during the 2024 hunting season, allegedly taking five white-tailed bucks over the legal limit in Bexar County. From June through September 2025, investigators believe Maguire illegally killed at least eight white-tailed bucks in residential areas across Comal and Hays counties.

Charges filed against Maguire include:

• Hunting without landowner consent, a state jail felony
• Hunting white-tailed deer at night, a Class A misdemeanor
• Hunting white-tailed deer from a vehicle from a public roadway, a Class A misdemeanor
• Failure to retrieve and keep white-tailed deer in edible condition, a Class A misdemeanor when committed in conjunction with other Class A offenses
• Possession of a controlled substance PG 1/1B (methamphetamines) 5.86 grams, a 2nd degree felony
• Possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor

Maguire also faces multiple Class C Parks and Wildlife Code violations.