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Thread: Busted

  1. #1
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    Default Busted

    Oregon Poachers Busted After Posting “Suspicious” Photo of Trophy Bull Elk on Social Media
    Three people were caught in a tangle of lies after an investigation into an unusual photo of a trophy bull elk

    BY TRAVIS HALL | PUBLISHED JUN 23, 2022

    The bull elk falsely tagged. ODFW

    Three people are facing steep fines, lengthy probation terms, and multi-year hunting bans after a photo on social media linked them to the poaching of a trophy bull elk in northern Oregon. The photo, which shows the giant bull laid out in a utility trailer, began circulating on social media in early November 2021. That’s when an anonymous hunter texted the suspicious image to a trooper with the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division.

    “It was a big elk on that trailer,” Senior Trooper Brent Ocheskey said in a press release issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). “An elk is a big animal [that’s] not easy to pack out without gutting and quartering it. That, in itself, was suspicious, especially in our patrol area.”

    bull elk on trailer

    This is the photo that piqued the ODFW’s interest. ODFW

    According to the ODFW, Ochesky did some digging when he saw the photo and came up with a suspect named Lionardo Munoz. When he paid Munoz a visit at his home in Mosier, Oregon, Ochesky found the man to be in possession of an elk head with the impressive set of antlers shown in the photo. Munoz told Ochesky that the bull belonged to a friend of his named Matt Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who was present at the Munoz residence at the time of questioning, said his wife had shot it on a stretch of high-elevation public land in Oregon’s Santiam unit. In fact, Wilkinson even showed Ochesky the exact waypoint where his wife had supposedly shot the big bull. Unbeknownst to him, the waypoint showed a spot within the Bull Run watershed that is off-limits to elk hunting.

    Trooper Ochesky, a seasoned hunter himself, also knew that the area indicated by the waypoint was blanketed in fresh snow at the time, which Wilkinson had denied encountering in his efforts to retrieve the animal. Additionally, the photo gave no indication of surrounding high-elevation terrain. Through further investigation, it became clear that Munoz had actually shot the bull in an orchard near his home in Mosier. Upon shooting the elk, Munoz enlisted Wilkinson’s help in loading the carcass onto his cargo trailer. Because Munoz only had a spike elk tag, and Wilkinson didn’t have a tag at all, they decided to use a tag held by Wilkinson’s wife, Rachel Hallett, in order to get the bull into a local processor.

    Hallet Had Also Improperly Tagged a Deer
    With the bull elk accounted for, Trooper Ochesky and colleagues turned their scrutiny to Rachel Hallett. According to ODFW’s records, Hallet had also tagged a deer in the Santiam Unit about a month prior, but that tag lacked a date or a timestamp. Ochesky drove to Hallet and Wilkinson’s house to investigate the deer. The couple reluctantly admitted that Hallett had shot the deer in an orchard near their home rather than in the wilds of the Santiam Unit. During this visit, troopers seized three additional buck skulls that Wilkinson claimed to have found, along with all of the meat from Hallett’s falsely tagged buck.

    “Whether by design, negligence or forgetfulness, sometimes people don’t take regard for which tag they have,” Ocheskey said. “But then they get in the weeds trying to cover their tracks instead of reporting their mistake. Or, they are intentionally deceitful. They loan and borrow tags. And that’s what gets people in trouble.”

    For poaching the trophy bull elk, Munoz was fined $15,000, issued a three-year hunting-license suspension, and given 12 months of bench probation. For lying to wildlife troopers, Wilkinson was fined $1,000, issued a five-year hunting-license suspension, and given 40 hours of community service and 12 months of bench probation. Hallett pled guilty to the “Unlawful Take of Buck Deer” charge. She received a three-year hunting-license suspension, 12 months of bench probation, and 40 hours of community service. Meanwhile, the hunter who flagged the image of the poached bull for Trooper Ochesky was recently awarded five preference points by the ODFW.

    https://www.fieldandstream.com/conse...ophy-bull-elk/

  2. #2
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    Idaho Men Receive Hunting and Firearm Bans for Poaching Eagles and Hawks
    The poachers were caught spotlighting and killing red-tailed hawks and golden eagles at a national conservation area

    BY TRAVIS HALL | PUBLISHED JUN 21, 2022

    A federal judge in Boise, Idaho, has sentenced two men to fines and probation, as well as hunting and firearm bans after they were caught shooting and killing federally protected raptors in a conservation area administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

    According to press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the recent sentencing capped a joint investigation into the men’s activities that began in March 2021 and involved agents from the Idaho Fish and Game Department, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

    Agents initiated the investigation after fielding multiple reports of dead raptors found beneath power lines that parallel a road in Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. In the field, agents found dead red-tailed, ferruginous, and rough-legged hawks, along with multiple golden eagles. All of the aforementioned hawk species are protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, while golden eagles are protected under the Bald Eagle Act of 1940. All of the raptors showed signs of being shot.

    On April 10, 2021, investigators were conducting surveillance in the conversation area where the killed birds had been found when they observed two men in the act of shooting raptors. Colton Ferdinand and Wyatt Noe were driving the road with powerful spotlights at night, picking off eagles and hawks. Law enforcement officers approached and apprehended the duo. They both confessed to their crimes. Agents searched the area and found one freshly-killed golden eagle and five dead red-tailed hawks.

    “The wanton killing of migratory birds, including the majestic golden eagle and the red-tailed hawk is senseless,” U.S. Attorney Rafael M. Gonzalez, Jr. said. “We take our mission to support fish and game laws very seriously, as do our partners in federal, state, and local law enforcement and land management. The slaughter of migratory birds will not be tolerated.”

    United States Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale sentenced both men to two years of probation and fifteen hours of community service, along with a two-year hunting ban and a two-year prohibition from owning or possessing firearms. The men were ordered to forfeit their rifles, pistols, ammunition, and spotlights and issued combined fines in excess of $6,000.

    https://www.fieldandstream.com/conse...ching-raptors/

  3. #3
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    Joe Pickett doing work
    “If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
    -Samuel Adams

  4. #4
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    $15,000 will certainly make you think twice before shooting another one.

  5. #5
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    That’s my brother in law Travis hall that wrote that article.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rebel Yell View Post
    now Hogan can fuck off on here all day and call it work, thanks!

  6. #6
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    Wait. Does this mean I can't kill my young son's dove limit?
    Either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.

  7. #7
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    You prob shouldn't comment u know what's gonna get brought up.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by mhogancu View Post
    That’s my brother in law Travis hall that wrote that article.
    No kidding? Small world. I've spoken with him a few times.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Duck Tape View Post
    Wait. Does this mean I can't kill my young son's dove limit?
    Depends, did you import said doves from another state?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sportin' Woodies View Post
    You prob shouldn't comment u know what's gonna get brought up.
    Quote Originally Posted by Woodiewacker82 View Post
    Depends, did you import said doves from another state?
    That one was literally shooting imported fish in a barrel.
    Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.


    You might take out a dozen before they drag you from your home and skull fuck you to death. Marsh Chicken 6/21/2013

  11. #11
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    I backed out to ignore it but then I just couldn’t.

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