Wildlife officers’ sting ends poaching ring

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife officers often work with unusual crime scenes as poachers can go to extreme lengths to hide their crimes.

Sgt. Jeff Dalton and Cpl. Bret Ditto found one of the most unusual and fertile evidence discoveries of their careers in 2016, a literal garden of skulls from illegally poached deer.

The two wildlife officers in the Jonesboro regional office had received many reports of poachers road hunting at night, but were unable to respond in time to catch any.

Major Brian Aston, Game and Fish assistant chief of enforcement, said night hunting and road hunting are two of the hardest poaching violations to catch because the crime usually occurs quickly. Landowners are only made aware of the activity when they hear the gunshot.

The violator is gone by the time officers can respond. Officers compile reports and calls from residents and look for patterns, similar vehicle descriptions and other information to ultimately set up a late-night sting operation.

As for Dalton and Ditto’s case, the volume of complainants reporting a random shot in the night increased. So did the deer carcasses scattered throughout their county. Unlike a typical poaching case, the calls received were scattered from one end of the county to the other and the “suspicious vehicle” descriptions were just as inconsistent. This led officers to believe they were dealing with multiple poachers acting independently.

As with most poaching cases, a call from a concerned resident finally gave officers the break they needed to make a case. The antlers of many deer heads had been seen sticking out of a stack of old tires outside a residence.

Further investigation indicated five suspects were possibly involved in the illegal taking of deer throughout the county. Evidence was compiled and confessions were obtained during the next 72 hours. That is when officers discovered the “deer garden” next to one of the suspect’s residences. All of the deer heads were neatly “planted” in a row with antlers protruding from the ground.

The grisly scene may have a good explanation. Some hunters will bury deer heads up to their antlers to let insect larvae clean the skulls of any tissues, leaving behind only bone and antlers. This makeshift taxidermy method creates what is known as a “European mount” and is an alternative to taking a trophy to a taxidermist for proper preservation. Burying the head cuts down on the smell of decomposition, which could have drawn the attention of scavengers that would drag away the poacher’s ill-gotten trophies.

In all, 30 illegally harvested deer heads were collected, as well as portions of illegally harvested turkeys and the talons of an owl and a hawk, which are illegal to possess.

Officers confiscated all illegally taken game as well as 14 guns, three bows and a set of night-vision goggles as evidence in the case.

The five suspects pleaded guilty to 122 charges including night hunting, deer hunting out of season, turkey hunting out of season, over limit of deer, hunting from a public road and more. They received $11,250 in fines, six years of hunting and fishing license suspensions, two years of probation and 160 hours of community service. The court also ordered all individuals to complete a hunter education course.