Saga of a poacher: crime and punishment
A wildlife detective saga in Northern California ended with the conviction last month of an out-of-state deer poacher — with a twist from a law that just took effect: The same poacher, caught now, would have faced fines of $80,000 instead of the $1,500 he was assessed in Superior Court.
The new law, five years in the making, says that poachers who take trophy deer, with antlers 3x3 or better, and other trophy wildlife, can face fines of $40,000 per animal, and those who illegally shoot wild turkeys up to $5,000 per bird, plus jail time.
“Maybe someone will think twice now before they illegally shoot a buck,” said state Wildlife Officer Pat Freeling, who was the lead investigator in a wildlife case that started with a Facebook post, where a poacher posted a photo and bragged about a trophy buck he had killed.
The trail of evidence led game wardens to Nevada, on to Truckee and then ultimately to remote Mendocino County. At an isolated ravine in the foothill country near Boonville (Mendocino County), Freeling and Wildlife Officer Brian
Laird ran head-on into their suspect: He carried the head of a freshly killed deer by the antlers. “I knew I had my man,” Freeling said.
For years, the Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated that the illegal kills by poachers were so prolific that they undermined the biological validity of laws that govern law-abiding hunting and fishing. In turn, the DFW established CalTip, which stands for “Californians Turn In Poachers,” a confidential witness program with rewards and a toll-free number, (888) 334-2258.
Even with increased tips and convictions for the bad guys, the court fines and sentences were often too light to discourage poachers and protect wildlife, game wardens said. In some counties, game wardens say that court calendars are often so crowded with felony cases that it can be difficult to get poachers arraigned and that some wildlife cases never make it to court.
Risk versus reward
The definition of a poacher is someone who illegally takes wildlife. The act is often perpetrated out of season, without regard to the animal’s sex, age or size, and can involve trespassing, commercial sales, a method of taking that violates fair-chase ethics. Often, the perpetrator has not passed the certified courses and training to qualify for state licenses and tags.
Five years ago, Patrick Foy, now one of DFW’s highestranking captains, started working on legislation to protect wildlife. With a plan to increase penalties, Foy went to the state’s hunting and conservation organizations and presented what he felt was an unacceptable state of affairs.
The organizations agreed this was a situation where you needed a hammer for the nail: A minimum fine of $5,000, maximum of $40,000 for the illegal kill of a trophy deer, elk, antelope or bighorn sheep (penalties for bear poaching are already severe), and a minimum fine of $2,000 and maximum of $5,000 for the illegal kill of a wild turkey, plus up to one year in county jail, plus probation where the bad guys have their hunting licenses revoked.
In addition, half of the money collected goes to the county where the offense was committed. That can pay for trial costs and local projects to enhance fish and wildlife populations.
“It took us five years to put this together,” Foy said. “We were deliberate by design. We wanted a full vetting. We asked all the hunting, conservation organizations for their input, and they all came on board.”
With a new payoff, game wardens and prosecutors have new reason to crack down on illegal wildlife kills. Poachers now face punishment that will bite worse than if they stepped on an illegal serrated steel-jaw trap. The end result is the wildlife has a new level of protection previously never seen in California.
Wildlife detective
The wildlife detective story started a year ago at a K-9 training program for wildlife officers, where a dog handler showed Freeling a Facebook post of a large buck. In the background of the photo, Freeling recognized the area, the western foothills of Mendocino County.
“For that area, it looked like the buck of a lifetime,” Freeling said. “I noticed right off it didn’t have the tag on the antlers as required.”
Through other social media posts, Freeling was able to track down the name of the man with the buck. The game warden then found other photos of the man with bucks and wild hogs, and then ran his name through the DFW license database.
“We came up with nada, nothing,” Freeling said, and it appeared the man had never owned a hunting license. “The hairs on the back of my neck are going up and I decide, ‘I’m gonna track him down.’ ”
With the help of a network of game wardens, the trail led to Reno, then to nearby Sparks, Nev., where the suspect lives, and on to Truckee in Nevada County, where he works.
“At this point, I’m thinking, ‘We’ll serve a search warrant in Truckee, to keep it California,’ ” Freeling said. Instead, officers were unable to locate the suspect.
Six weeks passed, the case was still open, and while on patrol with Game Warden Brian Laird, they came upon a vehicle parked along a remote road in Mendocino County. “It seemed out of place,” Freeling said. They then ventured afield to investigate.
Dusk was approaching. As they hiked into a ravine, it was warm enough to make the game wardens sweat, Freeling said. About a mile in, they saw movement ahead.
“We spotted the guy at 40 yards, walking the riverbed holding a deer head by its antlers,” Freeling said. “He looked at me with a look of sheer terror. I’d been looking at his picture for a month and a half, so I knew who it was.” He had no license, no tag, Freeling said.
In the field, in a taped confession, the man admitted to illegally killing the deer in his possession, as well as the one in the Facebook post, Freeling said. The body of the buck, which the man had left behind, was then field dressed by Laird, and the meat was donated to a senior center.
The saga ended in July. Tim Stoen, deputy district attorney in Mendocino County, with a reputation for prosecuting wildlife violations, pressed the case.
The suspect then pleaded no contest to hunting without deer tags and other violations, Freeling said, and, in turn, he said to game wardens, “‘I know what I did was wrong.”
The poacher was sentenced to 24 months probation with no hunting, ordered to forfeit the antlers for the two illegally taken bucks, fined $1,500, ordered to perform 100 hours of community service (such as picking up trash), and ordered to serve a special probation where he is required to give a “repentance speech” at two dinners with hunting/conservation organizations, Freeling said.
“If the same case were to happen this week, he could have faced $80,000 in fines,” Freeling said. “Both of the bucks he took would have fallen into the new category. Those who poach deer now have the incentive to think twice before they pull the trigger.”