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Heber electric company executive faces 20 illegal hunting charges
KPCW | By Grace Doerfler
Published September 4, 2024
The co-founder of two Heber-based companies, Probst Electric and Summit Line Construction, is facing felony charges in Idaho for a series of alleged hunting violations.
Idaho court records show Karl W. Studer, 43, has been charged with five felonies and 15 misdemeanors.
The charges include unlawfully killing or wasting wildlife, molesting game animals with a motorized vehicle, hunting to spot wildlife from an aircraft, outfitting and guiding without a license and more.
In a 66-page affidavit, a senior conservation officer meticulously documented 20 separate occasions when Studer and his associates violated Idaho hunting laws, citing cell phone location data, text receipts, helicopter flight records and other evidence.
As the East Idaho News reported, fish and game officers received numerous complaints about a red helicopter molesting wildlife in the summer and fall of 2023. For hunters, “molesting” animals means intentionally disturbing or harassing them and interfering with legal hunts. According to the allegations, Studer repeatedly paid a pilot to scout animals in the helicopter.
On one occasion, hunters who reported seeing the helicopter told officers the aircraft was flying so low they “could have hit it with an arrow.”
Documents show Studer communicated with the helicopter while hunting from the ground to find animals, which is also illegal.
Studer is also accused of paying the pilot $133,500 to fly employees of Probst Electric, who shot coyotes from the helicopter that summer and fall.
The affidavit states Studer allegedly paid $153,000 to buy hunting tags from multiple people. Selling tags is against the law. In one instance, Studer allegedly killed an elk, stored it in a refrigerated trailer without tagging it, then texted a friend to buy his tag.
He’s also charged with illegally possessing live wildlife. A conservation officer’s search of Studer’s cell phone revealed videos of Studer talking to a pronghorn he’d shot but did not kill. One video shows him asking the live animal, “Do you think you should go home and hang at the ranch?” The video shows the pronghorn remained alive in the back of his truck as he drove. The conservation officer stated Studer failed to ensure the animal was dead “and then took the time to make two videos, prolonging its death intentionally.”
Studer is also accused of killing more elk than was legal in the 2023 hunting season and, after surpassing his bag limit, continuing to hunt elk.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Twin Falls County, Idaho.
https://www.kpcw.org/heber-city/2024...unting-charges
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Originally Posted by 2thDoc
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