West Virginia State Police Sergeant and Clay County resident Aaron Nichols was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 23 over a hunting-related incident in Clay County.
Allegations state that Nichols shot a “Robo Deer” owned by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources during undercover road hunting and spotlighting investigation conducted by the Natural Resources Police, which was in the area following up on many complaints of illegal hunting.
The incident came to public attention when Nichols bragged in a Facebook post about shooting the “Robo deer” and getting away with it. Since then, allegations have been that Nichols then received a ticket for his illegal shooting of the “Robo Deer” and has been placed on administrative leave while an internal investigation is being conducted.
“In accordance with established policy and procedure, the West Virginia State Police has begun an internal investigation. Internal investigations are conducted completely independent of other potential or pending investigations,” the State Police said in a statement to the media.
Information has been gathered from other news sources; the Clay County Free Press could not reach the State Police for comment.