Wildlife officers recover 10 trophy bucks, arrests pending

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Wildlife officers recover 10 trophy bucks, arrests pending

By K.C. Mehaffey
World staff writer

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Photo provided

The heads of nine trophy bucks were recovered after state Department of Fish and Wildlife officers served four search warrants on Friday. One other head was seized in a search late last month.

OKANOGAN — State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers on Friday seized 9 trophy deer heads after searching four homes in Okanogan County. A 10th head was recovered last month, authorities said.

The evidence will be key to solving the case of the headless bucks, reported by residents from Malott to Okanogan who’ve been finding carcasses of whitetail and mule deer with the heads cut off and the bodies left to rot, said Wildlife Sgt. Jim Brown.

“This was a poaching ring, and spree killing,” said Brown, Wildlife’s supervisor in Okanogan County. “All of the suspects in this case know each other. They’re interrelated, and doing this together, or as part of a common scheme.” The hunters were using spotlights at night to hunt and kill them, he said.

No arrests for illegal hunting were made Friday, but officers have several suspects, he said. One of them — a 24-year-old Omak man — was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license, he said. Evidence is still being processed before he can be arrested for poaching, Brown added.

He said officers expect to arrest more people in the next few weeks, after reviewing all the evidence and conducting more interviews.

“They just killed them to kill them,” he said. “Their heads were stacked like cordwood.”

Wildlife officers have been investigating the case since November, and in January, went to the public to ask for help. A reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a suspect increased to $2,500 in early February.

Brown said officers used information from several tips to piece together their case. They had enough evidence to seek search warrants for four properties on Friday, he said. Six Wildlife officers in Okanogan County received help from Okanogan County Sheriff’s deputies, Colville Tribal Police officers, and Wildlife officers from Chelan and Grant counties.

Brown said all of the bucks are considered trophies — the smallest had four points on each side and the largest had five on one side and six on the other, with a 29-inch spread. “That’s a lot of big bucks,” he said. If convicted, the poachers will be required to pay a $6,000 fine per buck — because they were trophies — in addition to other court fees and fine.

Brown said local sportsmen who saw officers processing the evidence in a parking lot on Friday stopped to see what was happening. “They were sick to their stomachs,” he said, adding, “It’s the theft of an opportunity from a legitimate hunter. These deer were going to be that big or bigger in a year. And now, they’re not in the gene pool. They’re never going to be involved in breeding again.”

Officers also seized a 2004 Dodge pickup truck believed to be used to poach some of the deer.

Anyone with information about this or other wildlife violations can call the poaching reporting line, 877-933-9847.

K.C. Mehaffey: 997-2512

mehaffey@wenatcheeworld.com

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» 20 comments on this story

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gayles 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Very sad. Seeing the photo makes me sick to my stomach too.

Thank you to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers for your vigilant. Be safe.

gayles 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Here's a Columbia Basin Herald (Moses Lake) article on poaching at Grand Coulee area.

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/crime-fire/article_f01291a0-77b5-11e2-a120-0019bb2963f4.html

Dixie 2 months, 2 weeks ago

While some people are always griping about and bad mouthing the DFW they need to THINK about what the DFW officers do before they spout off. Without them poaching would be rampant, think of the good job they do even with continual cuts in their budget. They are not only here to protect OUR wildlife but they often put their lives on the line while doing it. Glad they caught the slime bags and hopefully decent citizens will make sure and call in if they see any of this going on in the future.

MarcellaBorghese 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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Stever 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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JimboBear 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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Dave 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Great job by the Fish and Wildlife officers, now maybe the judge will do his part.

lonedog3 2 months, 2 weeks ago

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TerryFinn 2 months, 2 weeks ago

That photo certainly makes a horrifying statement.

lisuffe 2 months, 2 weeks ago

The persons committing this crime probably are also those most vociferous citizens claiming and defending their right to bear arms.

davebugg 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Not hardly. Those who are the most vociferous about defending the 2nd Amendment want these criminal felons locked up behind bars and their rights to keep and bear arms stripped away by the court. No one who supports the right to keep and bear arms believes that criminals should have any access to firearms.

This attempt of yours to wrongly smear non-criminal gun owners was completely unnecessary and unfounded. It merely reflected the sad and silly lengths to which anti-gun hoplophobes will go when they have no rational arguments on which to rely.

H 2 months, 2 weeks ago

I hope they get a long jail sentence out of this along with the fines. They should also have their hunting privelages taken away permanently.

davebugg 2 months, 2 weeks ago

+1 on that sentiment, Harold.

lonedog3 2 months, 2 weeks ago

sad thing is do you really think these criminals really care about legal hunting and would they care about hunting privileges? Prison is where these clowns belong.

beauwy 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Felony convictions and lifetime loss of firearms rights sounds about right.

riverhaven 2 months, 2 weeks ago

This makes me sick to my stomach! The wardens that made this pinch should be awarded medals and these criminals should be put in jail. I think it's unfortunate that the reporter for the Wenachee World refered to them as "hunters." These are not hunters but poachers and common ordinary criminals that should serve some time for their crimes. Statements like that merely give the anti-hunting crowd more ammunition to carry out their agenda.

Unfortuately, for the wardens who've done an exceptional job in catching these criminals, I'm afraid they will be disappointed that the courts will diminish the severity of their crimes. I'm willing to bet that a "slap on the hand" and a small fine is all they'll get.

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