Bullets whiz past fishermen as detective kills country club geese, AR cops say
A now-former police detective is accused of shooting several geese at a golf course, and endangering others with his gunfire, Arkansas officials say.
Investigators say Dustin Epperly, who was employed by the Bentonville Police Department, opened fire on geese at Shadow Valley Country Club in Rogers, killing multiple birds, KFSM reported.
The incident happened July 10, and Arkansas game wardens launched an investigation into “the poaching of Canada Geese” at the country club, according to a news release. Although witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots at the golf course, it was unknown who had been pulling the trigger.
Officers with the Rogers Police Department also responded to the course after receiving a call from a man who said he not only saw the shooter, but also was nearly hit by gunfire, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported, citing a police report.
The caller was fishing on a pond at the country club with his girlfriend when a man, Epperly, stopped his golf cart near the pond and started shooting with what sounded like a suppressed .22 rifle, the outlet reported.
The man appeared to be aiming for geese, the caller told police, but a few shots came dangerously close to the couple, with at least two bullets whizzing audibly just above the caller’s head, according to the outlet.
Nearly a month later, in early August, a game warden approached Rogers police after receiving an anonymous letter saying Epperly shot the geese, KTHV reported. Police said the game warden also provided video that captured shots being fired and people yelling, telling whoever was shooting to stop.
When the game warden talked to Epperly, he said he hadn’t heard about the shooting, that he wasn’t at the country club that evening, and that he didn’t own a .22 rifle, the station reported.
More witnesses came forward and, “while initially hesitant,” told investigators Epperly killed several geese at two ponds at the golf course on the same night, the station reported.
On Aug. 15, investigators say Epperly went to the Rogers Police Department and told officers he had drinks at the country club with some of the witnesses on the evening of the shooting, went home to get the .22, then came back, the station reported. He killed four geese at the first pond, he told police, then fired shots at a second pond but stopped when he heard people screaming.
Epperly was given citations for discharge of a firearm within city limits and disorderly conduct, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
He was fired from the Bentonville Police Department on Aug. 15, Police Chief Ray Shastid told the outlet.
Rogers is about a 210-mile drive northwest from Little Rock.
This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Bullets whiz past fishermen as detective kills country club geese, AR cops say."