Crime & Safety

Cops Bust Berlin Resident Gutting Deer in Parking Lot

Middletown Police say the man found the carcass on the side of Route 9 and wanted to teach his sons how to "field strip" a deer.

Middletown, CT — The gutting of a deer in the parking lot of an apartment complex near a Wesleyan University arts center resulted in charges this week for a Berlin man who, according to the police report, wanted to show his sons how to field strip a deer.

Lawrence Massey, 37, was arrested, police say, after downtown Middletown residents were shocked to see him employ his hunting knife to methodically "field strip" a deer. 

It is unclear if the deer was a buck or doe.

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Police were called to the back lot of the 594 Main Street Apartments Monday at 3:21 p.m. near the Green Street Arts Center, where several mothers and their young children were walking around. The report says the arriving officer was "overcome by a very strong smell emanating from the carcass" upon leaving his patrol car.

Massey, the police report says, told officers he found the carcass on the side of Route 9 southbound, loaded it into his minivan, and brought it home to show his sons the classic hunting technique of "how to field strip a deer after it had been killed."

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According to the arrest report, Massey's two sons live at the rowhouse-style apartment complex with their mother.

Police found Massey holding a folding knife in his right hand with both arms covered in blood beyond his elbows. The report says Massey had put down plastic tarps in the parking lot, slit the deer from "anus to lower throat" and placed the "guts of the deer, the intestines, liver, stomach, bladder, etc.," on the ground beside the carcass.

Without being asked, the report says, Massey cleaned up the mess by loading it into the rear of his minivan to take it home to Berlin. Several citizens, who wished to remain anonymous, the arrest report details, "found this behavior shocking and frightening and not an appropriate area."

Massey was charged with disorderly conduct and given a Nov. 11 court date.


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