RUMFORD — Two Rumford deer hunters were arrested on gun charges Tuesday afternoon after a Maine Warden Service investigation into a deer hunting incident last week off Route 232, according to a service report on Friday.

Brandon M. Robin, 32, of 150 South Rumford Road, was charged with reckless conduct with a firearm by Maine State Police Trooper Kyle Tilsley and taken to Oxford County Jail in Paris.

Warden Joshua Smith charged Eric S. Austin, 35, of Erchles Street, with reckless conduct with a firearm, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and hunting without a license.

Additionally, State Police Sgt. Donald Shead charged Austin with a probation violation and took him to the Paris jail.

At their initial appearance on Thursday in Oxford County Superior Court in Paris, Robin was freed on a $1,000 cash bail bond and Austin on a $2,500 cash bail bond.

Austin will be arraigned on Jan. 10, 2011, in Superior Court. The venue is the same for Robin, but his arraignment is tentatively set for March 2011.

Maine Warden Service spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte said Friday by e-mail that the service received a complaint on Nov. 23 about a deer hunting incident off Route 232 in Rumford.

That complaint was that shots were being fired toward traffic, near residences and close to people, prompting an investigation, she said.

The District Attorney's Office clerk said Austin was serving probation at the time, stemming from a 2006 conviction on felony operating under the influence and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

He was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but nine months suspended, and placed on probation for four years.

Turcotte said Rumford and state police, and Maine Probation and Parole assisted in the case, which remains under investigation. No further details are available.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

Submitted Photo

Eric Austin

Submitted Photo

Brandon Robin