When it comes to stupid outdoor crooks, this poacher takes the crown
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I just can’t understand how stupid some people are. It’s almost like they’re taking college courses on how to be really dumb.
But based on how many notes I get asking for more or saying how much they enjoyed a Dumb Outdoor Crooks column I wrote, a lot of you really do. And since I’m a firm believer in job security, here’s another episode of really dumb outdoor scammers.
The king of all dummies
If your loved one calls the police over a domestic dispute, you might think twice about keeping evidence of an outdoor crime, right. But that’s exactly what happened recently in Decatur, Michigan.
And shortly after the police arrived and secured the situation, they called the Michigan Department of Environmental Conservation officers and asked them to respond quickly at this location.
They arrived and were escorted to a barn located on the Complainant’s property. And they were literally floored by what was hanging inside. They found nine deer hanging in that barn. And each of them would be considered a trophy!
But wait! It’s getting better. Officers have the legal authority in all domestic disturbance complaints to inspect all structures on a property to ensure there are no other people (or children) lurking seeking safety . And with this evidence, conservation officers were able to settle numerous citizen complaints about a van driving through fields while shining lights and shooting deer.
This case got much weirder (if that was possible) when officers radio checked the man. It appears this poacher has a prior DNR record from 2018 for illegally taking and possessing a white-tailed deer.
That means his hunting license days are history. And his criminal (felony) history includes possession of methamphetamine, third degree fleeing from a police officer and a third offense of driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol (also a felony).
Our boy was arraigned on November 9 in the local court and had to be tried without bail. And as for his poaching of those nine dollars, in addition to his fines and forfeitures that will be determined by the court in February, he must pay up to $59,000 in restitution to the state. And Michigan will collect that money.
No one is above the law
Here’s another kind of dumb outdoor scammer story that makes me feel mixed emotions. This is Javarrea Pouncy, an off-duty policeman in Louisiana (Coushatta Parish). And it seems that he liked “hunting” deer.
The problem was that he apparently liked it a little too much.
He was surprised while lighting a deer, but that was the least of his worries. He had three cohorts in his car when he was arrested after a light was thrown through his window, a shot was fired and a deer fell dead.
At the stop of a Louisiana state game warden, the first thing the warden noticed was that the four men were in a parish police car. The director removed the four men from the suspect vehicle, searched and disarmed them, and ran their names through the NCIC.
He discovered that one of them was a convicted felon and was not allowed to possess the firearm the manager had taken from him. And he didn’t have a hunting license either.
Nor did Javarrea have a hunting license. Neither did the other two. And they were captured on private property where and when the poaching took place. The Chief of the Parish Police Department, Kevin Stafford, has suspended our poor misguided officer indefinitely until this matter is fully investigated.
That reminds me …
This case reminded me of the time my partner (and boss) Tom Sechrist and I encountered a DEC “employee” while he and his son were hunting with another man and his son along the southwestern part of the Cayuga Lake. We had no idea who they were since we were on a cliff as they hunted along the shore of the lake.
We observed them while they were hunting ducks at the end of the season. And we watched them as they shot several flocks of ducks, killing several pochards and a goldeneye. Then a flock of rufous came by and they fired two shots, killing two of those ducks.
We watched them retrieve the two and return to land near their awning. Then we watched one of the men take the two redheads to some trees and hide them.
Why did they hide these ducks? Well, that year the red and web-back ducks were rare and they had suffered from a very bad breeding spring. The federal biologist then closed the hunting season on the two species. And these two hunters were obviously aware of the species they had killed and that there was no season on this species.
Well, that was enough for the two of us to go down and finish their hunt. And let me tell you, coming down that hill was definitely a tough hike. But we did it safely (except for my butt) and approached the blind man in silence as we are inclined to do.
And I wish you (the readers) could see the expressions on their faces. And at the same time, I’m sure of Tom’s and mine’s expression when we recognized the high-ranking DEC Region 7 employee facing us.
Well, we did a full field check of the two adults (both boys weren’t hunting) with gun caps, steel shot shells, permits and duck stamps. Everything seemed to be in order. Then we checked their ducks and noticed they were a shy of a legal two person limit.
Tom then asked if they had any other ducks to declare? And they both answered “no” to this question. But I noticed that one of the young people was turning away to look at the side of the wall of the store.
Tom broke the silence when he asked the DEC employee to fetch the two redheads they were hiding near the trees. The man did what he was told, and that put them one point over the legal limit. I asked them who already had a limit and killed the extra duck. And the DEC guy confessed to going over the limit.
We wrote two tickets for the DEC guy and one for the other gunner (for his redhead kill). And the DEC guy caught up with us as we were leaving and was almost in tears explaining that he could lose his job if reported.
I explained that he would receive two citations in the mail. If he paid the fines, the case would be closed at that time and no one would be informed of anything. (This was our standard procedure with all violations in New York).
Addendum: Someone shouted (but not Tom or me) and this top DEC official got a free, unpaid month’s vacation.
Len Lisenbee is the Daily Messenger’s outside writer. Contact him at lisenbee@frontiernet.net
When it comes to stupid outdoor crooks, this poacher takes the crown
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