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Game Wardens File 74 Charges Over Decapitated Deer in Texas Hill Country

The filing links evidence from three counties to a New Braunfels man and widens prosecutorial exposure by adding drug charges.

Darrell Maguire, 55, of New Braunfels, faces numerous wildlife and drug offenses stemming from an investigation into poaching incidents in Comal, Hays and Bexar counties between the fall of 2024 and late summer 2025. (Texas Parks & Wildlife))
Darrell Maguire, 55, of New Braunfels, faces numerous wildlife and drug offenses stemming from an investigation into poaching incidents in Comal, Hays and Bexar counties between the fall of 2024 and late summer 2025. (Texas Parks & Wildlife))
Darrell Maguire, 55, of New Braunfels, faces numerous wildlife and drug offenses stemming from an investigation into poaching incidents in Comal, Hays and Bexar counties between the fall of 2024 and late summer 2025. (Texas Parks & Wildlife))
Darrell Maguire, 55, of New Braunfels, faces numerous wildlife and drug offenses stemming from an investigation into poaching incidents in Comal, Hays and Bexar counties between the fall of 2024 and late summer 2025. (Texas Parks & Wildlife))

Overview

  • The charges that Texas Game Wardens filed Thursday accuse 55-year-old Darrell Maguire of illegally killing at least 13 white-tailed bucks in Bexar, Comal and Hays counties.
  • The probe began after multiple decapitated deer carcasses were found in June 2025 and investigators recovered spent crossbow bolts in residential yards.
  • Wardens say surveillance of the scenes and material seized during a home search tied the killings to a pattern of shooting from a vehicle with a crossbow, removing only the heads and leaving the carcasses to waste.
  • Maguire was arrested in September 2025 after a search warrant turned up evidence linking him to poaching scenes and 5.86 grams of methamphetamine, and the 74-count filing now mixes state jail and second-degree felonies with misdemeanors under the Parks and Wildlife Code.
  • The case is pending in the courts and could prompt greater enforcement scrutiny in suburban areas because Texas law limits bag sizes, bans hunting from vehicles and regulates night hunting.