Alleged Poacher Charged with Shooting Brookwood Man Over Illegally Killed Goose

A Tuscaloosa County man has been charged with felony assault after he allegedly shot another man during a dispute over an illegally killed goose.

According to court documents filed Tuesday, on the evening of March 27th, 42-year-old Jacob Wayne Battle was riding in a truck driven by a family member when they spotted a Canada Goose in a field off Ridge Road in Brookwood.

Battle told the driver to stop and they shot and killed the goose - a federally protected species that cannot be harmed without special permissions - with a rifle.

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Two people inside a residence on that road heard the gunshot and stepped outside to see someone running toward a parked truck with a rifle in hand. They could also see the slain goose in a nearby field across from their home.

Police said the people who went outside to investigate then confronted the shooters and while one argued with Battle, the second person stepped around back of the truck to get a tag number.

Battle reportedly told investigators that although he never saw either person with a weapon, he was unsure of their intentions and told the family member who was driving to speed off. He then leaned out of the window and "fired two or three warning shots towards the ground."

At least one of those "warning shots" struck the victim in the leg and they were transported to UAB Hospital in Birmingham for treatment of wounds that police said were not life-threatening.

Broodwood resident Jacob Wayne Battle, 42, was arrested and charged with first-degree assault for the shooting. He has been released from the Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $30,000 bound.