Boater strikes dismissal deal in drowning of large buck in Minnesota lake

A boater accused of pursuing a large buck with his pontoon boat until the deer drowned has struck a deal to have the charges dismissed.

Steven W. Timm, of Moorhead, and the Mahnomen County attorney have agreed to a continuance for dismissal, meaning prosecutors will drop their case if he commits no similar offenses within six months.

Even with the agreement, Timm had to pay a $500 fine to the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the state's loss of the deer last Labor Day weekend on Tulaby Lake. He had pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and chasing a wild animal in a motor vehicle for the purpose of hunting.

The agreement was accepted by the court last week and allows Timm to avoid the risk of a trial, and saves him time and money fighting the allegation, defense attorney Jade Rosenfeldt said Tuesday.

Timm, 56, still "adamantly denies what he's alleged to have done," Rosenfeldt said.

The DNR, which investigated the case, said Timm told a conservation officer that he was merely trying to turn the deer back and that he intended no harm.

Lakeside property owner David Kvidt told investigators that he saw the deer swimming in the lake earlier that morning about 200 feet from shore and then saw Timm navigate the pontoon toward the deer, sending the animal farther from shore.

Timm then "circled about the deer," the complaint read. The deer responded by swimming faster and was floating belly-up at one point, Kvidt said.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482