You Can Run…But You Can’t Hide
By District Conservation Officer Marc Porter
I had just finished the third day of patrol during the 2010 mule deer hunting season in Malad (Unit 73) when I received a phone call from Senior Conservation Officer Korey Owens. Korey told me that he had received a complaint of two wasted mule deer in the Franklin Basin area and the informant knew who did it. The informant had described the location of the two wasted mule deer carcasses and Korey needed an extra person to help find them. I was ready for a break from chasing hunters in my own patrol area and was looking forward to seeing some different country for a day.
After finding the deer carcasses and verifying that both were wasted, we were called to work another case involving poached deer that possibly had been transported to an unknown meat locker. After scouring meat lockers near Preston with no luck, we went to Utah, rounded up the above waste violators and issued a citation and a warning to them. As I was getting ready to get back to Malad that evening, Korey said he would check the meat locker in Malad in the
morning and meet me at my residence. I told him that Senior Conservation Officer Joey Ishida was coming into town and could help with the investigation.
The following morning, Korey arrived at my house with a copy of the meat cutter’s log detailing who had brought in wild game, the species, and the date when they were brought in. As Korey, Joey, and I reviewed the log, I noticed there were two residents of Malad, an unrelated man and a woman, who had brought in mule deer bucks to the meat cutter. Living in Malad for the last 8+ years, I knew neither individual typically hunted deer. We reviewed the Idaho Fish and Game license database and learned that the woman had purchased a 2010 general deer tag in Malad on October 11, 2010 at 9:26am and her deer had been logged into the meat cutter’s business between 12:00pm and 12:30pm that same day. The man had purchased a general deer tag on October 12, 2010 at 10:10am and it had arrived at the meat cutter’s sometime between 12:00pm and 1:00pm.
Unit 73 is an unlimited controlled hunt unit, meaning you cannot kill a mule deer during the rifle hunt with a general tag. It would take someone nearly an hour or more to get from Malad to a general hunt unit in southeast Idaho. Unit 74 east of Downey, Unit 73A between Arbon and Rockland Valleys, and Unit 56 west of the Stone Road are the closest general hunt units to Malad.
The likelihood of these two individuals buying their general deer tags when they did, travelling to a general hunt unit, harvesting and cleaning a mule deer, and bringing it back to the meat cutter in Malad in a few hours was highly unlikely.
We decided to have Korey and Joey interview the woman at her residence while I would interview the male Malad resident at his place of employment. I arrived at his workplace and was told that he was working out toward Deep Creek Reservoir. I asked if he had worked every day of the deer season and was told that he had. Ten minutes later I arrived at his work site and he stated he had killed the deer in Bull Canyon in Unit 73A but could not say exactly where in Bull Canyon he had killed it. After 10 minutes of not knowing
anything about his hunt, he stated he had not killed a deer, but had bought a tag to put on a deer (illegal transfer of a mule deer tag) that a hunter staying at the Malad woman’s residence had shot.
Korey and Joey met me at my house and Joey said he talked to the local woman and she claimed to have also killed her buck in Bull (or Skull) Canyon with one shot. Korey had previously inspected her deer at the meat locker and it had at least two shots in it. Joey said she hadn’t answered any of the questions asked of her confidently. Furthermore, Korey told me that he had interviewed the husband and he was sure that he had gone back into the bedroom with his wife to quickly brief her on where she had supposedly killed the deer before coming back out and talking to Korey. Korey also stated that the husband was vague but set on the fact that his wife’s deer was killed in Bull Canyon and he appeared to be deceitful throughout the interview. Both Korey and Joey stated that they had also talked to several non-residents that were staying at the residence and hunting (one from Ohio, one from Indiana, and one from West Virginia). They had said they were going to hunt one more day before heading home. None of the non-residents were anxious to talk to Korey or Joey and they also acted nervous in front of the two officers. I told them that the male suspect had confessed and that I wanted to talk to the female’s husband at their residence again to question their timeline of events.
We interviewed the woman’s husband again and I explained that between an interview that I had earlier with a Malad resident and the timelines that we had put together he had a whole lot of explaining to do. He stated he needed to talk some things over with his wife but he wanted to come clean with everything. We agreed to meet him again at Burger King in 45 minutes. As it turned out, that was just enough time for the non-residents to pack their gear and leave Idaho, heading back to their respective eastern states. I said to myself, “You can run…”
At Burger King, the woman’s husband came clean about his wife’s deer explaining that either the non-resident from Indiana or the other non-resident from Florida had killed the deer that he put his wife’s deer tag on. The non-resident from Florida and his son, who serves in the armed forces in California, had left the day before our interviews. The woman’s husband had thought that the Florida resident had also killed the deer that the Malad man’s tag went on. He further stated that he had arranged the purchase of the tags in Malad to cover the mule deer that the non-residents shot. This allowed the non-residents to continue hunting.
Korey and I attempted to interview the non-residents by phone with little chance of them wanting to talk to us. Korey was able to talk to the person in the armed forces and I was able to talk to the Florida non-resident. They both claimed not to know much which we found surprising since they were all staying under the same roof throughout the hunt. Both also stated they didn’t kill anything during the hunt. The other non-residents would not return our phone calls, probably with the hopes we would eventually just go away. I again thought to myself, “You can run…”
Later, I received a phone call from an individual claiming to be very well connected who threatened he would file a lawsuit against me and Idaho Fish and Game in federal court if I continued to harass his friends. He further stated that he would have an attorney contact me in 48 hours. This man, who was not present during the Idaho hunt, yelled at me for five minutes during which time I did not get in a word.
It got even better when a landowner contacted Deputy Rusty Jones of the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office stating he had caught two individuals from Florida trespassing on his place. He said that they had trespassed and were kicked off the previous year as well. He wanted to press charges and gave descriptions that matched the Florida resident and his son involved in our cases. Using this information, Korey was able to get the son in the armed forces in California to admit to trespassing on the landowner’s property.
Days later an attorney contacted me and Oneida County Prosecutor Dustin Smith. We haggled over different points of view for a couple of months. I vividly remember one phone conversation where the attorney called me personally and said that since we were only dealing with misdemeanor violations, his clients have no intention of ever coming to Idaho again. He further stated that they would never be extradited on the subsequent warrants that would be issued because they are only misdemeanors and they would essentially walk free. I listened to his points thinking “You can run…” I explained that we could charge everyone in the group with unlawful possession of mule deer for the simple fact that they were all in possession of the illegal deer at different times. I also explained that two of the individuals could be cited for trespass. I then asked the attorney if he or his clients had ever heard of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC). The attorney had not heard of the compact and wanted to know more. I stated that I understood they are only misdemeanors, however 36 states have entered into a compact that recognizes wildlife violations in each member state. In most cases, they recognize the penalties imposed by the state the violation occurred in. For example, if one is revoked for 2 years in Idaho, the other states will impose that revocation in their state. Furthermore, failure to answer to these charges would likely result in an automatic license revocation in the 36 states until the matter is taken care of in Idaho. The longer they wait to take care of the matter, the longer their hunting licenses will be revoked. I also told him that I was willing to bet that they really enjoyed hunting and that they didn’t want their licenses automatically revoked until this matter was settled in court. The attorney asked if Ohio and Indiana were in the compact. When I told him they were, he ended the conversation by saying he would get back to me in a couple days.
The attorney called Oneida County Prosecutor Dustin Smith and stated that he would like to settle the case and a plea agreement was struck. The Indiana resident had shot one of the deer and the Ohio resident had shot the other deer.
Judge Laggis from Power County, Idaho presided over the male Malad resident’s arraignment since Oneida County Judge Evans knew the defendant personally. He pled guilty to transfer of a mule deer tag and received a $500 fine and $145 court costs, lost his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for a year and was ordered to do 60 hours of community service. He was also put on 6 months of probation and received 10 days of jail which was suspended.
Judge Evans presided over the other arraignments. The Ohio resident and the Indiana resident each received withheld judgments. They each pled guilty to using a mule deer tag of another. They each got $700 fines, $145 court costs, lost their hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for one year. They were also put on probation for 12 months and received 10 days in jail which was suspended. The
husband that arranged for the tags to be put on the mule deer that the non-residents shot pled guilty to Aiding in the commission of a misdemeanor (to wit: Using mule deer tags of another). He received a $300 fine, $137.50 in court costs, lost his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for 2 years, 12 months probation, and 10 days of suspended jail time. We opted not to charge his wife because we felt she didn’t know that her husband had bought a tag for her until officers showed up at the residence and the husband quickly briefed her.
The Wildlife Violator Compact has assured that these individuals will not hunt legally in Idaho or 35 other states this year (2011). Wildlife management of big game populations, including mule deer, depends on many factors (weather, habitat, poaching, etc). Managers also make hunt season
recommendations on the percent success of mule deer hunters in areas. Hunters illegally shooting multiple deer not only steal from the lawful hunters still in pursuit of their buck, but also skew the mule deer success rate in given areas. Individuals with these attitudes do not deserve the right to hunt.
At the successful conclusion of the case, I couldn’t help but think to myself that the member states of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies had had an incredible vision of a wildlife violator compact. The compact has helped thousands of game wardens and other wildlife officers throughout the United States protect our wildlife resources. It has resulted in the prosecution of many chronic poachers by revoking their privileges in many states. And it continues to serve a valuable purpose today. It has helped me several times in my career. As I reflect on this case, I can’t help but think, “You can run…but you can’t hide!”
Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact
Many citizens, sportsmen and women included, may not be familiar with the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC) and its importance to the overall effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement throughout the United States.
What is the IWVC?
The IWVC is a legal agreement between member states recognizing hunting, fishing, and trapping license suspensions. For example, a person convicted of a wildlife crime in Idaho that requires a mandatory license revocation (i.e. taking big game during a closed season), other member states may revoke that individual’s license privileges as well just as if that crime was committed in their respective state.
Benefits of the Compact
One benefit of the IWVC is it allows officers to cite and release non-resident hunters and fishermen in the field without having to take them to jail to be booked and bonded. If a non-resident wildlife violator that’s cited and released in Idaho fails to show up for his or her court
appearance, they may lose their license privileges in Idaho, their home state, and other member states until they take care of the court matter. It also makes violators think twice about committing a wildlife crime knowing that there could be consequences of their actions in other states where they like to hunt, fish, or trap.
History of the Compact
The idea of a wildlife violator compact was discussed by member states of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies in the early 1980s based on the concept of the Driver’s License Compact and Non-Resident Violator Compact. Colorado and Nevada drafted their own compacts
in 1985. In 1989, legislators in Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon passed compact legislation into law meaning these were the first 3 states to enter into the IWVC. Idaho became a member in 1991. In 1999, Utah developed a database where member states could enter their suspension information and other member states could check their license databases to make sure that those revoked weren’t purchasing licenses under suspension.
Currently there are 36 member states, 4 states have passed legislation and are ready to become compact members, and 2 states are in the process of becoming members.
Marc Porter is district conservation officer for the Region 5 East District. He enjoys watching his kids play sports, duck hunting, turkey hunting, and fly fishing in his spare time.