VIDEO: Hunter dies after struggle with wounded deer

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Two Polk County men accused of hunting deer at night have been hit with multiple night poaching charges, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The FWC said its officers were on routine patrol when they heard a gunshot and observed a man with a rifle standing next to a vehicle on the side of the road.

When officers approached the vehicle, they saw a passenger inside the truck and an antlered deer in the bed of the vehicle. They said a search of the truck turned up three other firearms.

According to the FWC, the two men admitted to shooting the deer earlier that night and shooting a second deer that was never located.

The men, identified as Chase Purcell, 36, and Andrew Barbee, 21, were arrested for multiple hunting offenses and taken to the Polk County Jail.

Purcell is charged with taking a deer at night, taking from a roadway and taking an antlered deer without having an antler with at least three points on one side or a main beam of at least 10 inches in total length.

Barbee is charged with taking a deer at night, taking from a roadway, discharge of a firearm from a public road and illegal method of take, the FWC said.