There are always a few hunters who disrespect the law - LimaOhio.com
While the vast majority of deer hunters follow rules and regulations, there are always the few who use illegal methods to harvest a deer. Such instances appear periodically in this column such as a note used last week about jacklighting or spotlighting deer in Mercer County.
Such wanton incidents not only occur in the Lima area, but statewide. Fortunately, wildlife officers receive reports of such activities and investigate them. These officers sometimes happen upon them while doing routine work. Some of those incidents, reported by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, follow.
One of the worst occurred when Meigs County Wildlife Officer Chris Gilkey and his K9 partner Mattis were working an area where people had been spotlighting deer.
The wildlife officer noticed a pickup from which a light was shined out the window. Gilkey followed the truck and stopped it. While ordering the driver out of the truck, he noticed two other men in the vehicle. The officer discovered the closest units for backup were at least 30 minutes away after calling for such help.
That’s where his K9 partner took over. While Gilkey was handcuffing the three suspects, Mattis was his backup to make sure the trio was taken into custody without resistance.
Illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, multiple spotlights and a loaded rifle were discovered in the vehicle when backup officers arrived.
Each of the suspects lost their hunting rights for three years. They were placed on probation for 30 days. A total of nine summonses were issued. The rifle was forfeited to the state.
In another instance of spotlighting, an individual was found guilty and ordered to pay $345 in fines and court costs in Ashtabula Eastern County Court.
The individual was seen shining his truck’s headlights into a field on the other side of an oil well lane. Ashtabula County Wildlife Officer Jason Warren noticed the truck back into the lane along a seldom-traveled road while on patrol. The driver then traveled down the road and turned sideways, again shining headlights into the field.
When Warren stopped the truck, he discovered an uncased rifle inside the cab with ammunition sitting nearby. The court ordered the rifle returned to its original owner.
It’s not a smart idea to lie to a wildlife officer. It can be costly in a summons and a fine.
A couple of people discovered that to be true when they were part of a group that was on a deer drive in the Wayne National Forest in Monroe County.
Monroe County Wildlife Officer Wes Feldner was checking a group for their licenses and permits when he noticed a pair of individuals moving away from the second group. The two claimed they were only helping with the deer drive and not hunting. In Ohio, anyone assisting someone while hunting deer must be properly licensed.
Feldner found that one of the individuals had hidden a shotgun and the other had hid a small amount of marijuana. He wound up issuing each summonses.
In Franklin County, an individual was issued a pair of citations for not having a hunting license and a deer permit. He wound up paying $261 in fines and court costs.
He lied to Franklin County Wildlife Officer Brad Kiger about having a hunting license. He agreed to meet Kiger the day after being contacted and admitted he had purchased a deer permit after taking a deer. He failed to show up for the meeting at his residence. He also did not answer Kiger’s phone call. Kiger discovered the deer was taken to a butcher at another location. The two did meet at a new location where the individual was issued his citations.
In a blatant display of disrespect for the law, a Williams County resident and a friend were cited and fined for illegal activities.
Williams County Wildlife Officer Ethan Bingham and Fulton County Wildlife Officer Josh Zientek contacted a person who had harvested five deer, including a second antlered deer. Only one antlered deer may be harvested during the deer season in Ohio.
The individual not only admitted to taking the second antlered deer, but also said he took an antlerless deer both on opening day of the 2020 gun season. The antlerless deer was never checked in while the second antlered deer was checked in by a friend.
Four summonses were issued among the two individuals, who paid $1,049 in fines and court costs.
A Turn-In-a Poacher call (800-762-2437) helped a pair of wildlife officers cite suspects in a lengthy investigation where a primary suspect was cited for harvesting two antlered deer in two separate deer seasons.
Morrow County Wildlife Officer Tyler Eldred, Marion County Wildlife Officer Chad Grote and Delaware County Wildlife Officer Maurice Irish contacted multiple suspects during the investigation, which began, on the tip that a Morrow County resident had harvested two antlered deer during the 2019-20 deer season.
It was determined that the primary suspect had illegally harvested a pair of antlered deer in both the 2019-20 and the 2021-22 deer seasons. He and other suspects were found guilty in Morrow County Municipal Court. The primary suspect was ordered to pay $3,600 in restitution, forfeit his crossbow and deer to the state, and serve 12 months on probation. He was also ordered 30 days in jail which was suspended.
A second suspect fraudulently game-checked the additional antlered deer. Two antlered deer were seized along with the crossbow used during the violations.
Al Smith is a freelance outdoor writer. You may contact him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @alsmithFL.
source: https://www.limaohio.com/sports/495181/there-are-always-a-few-hunters-who-disrespect-the-law
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