Multiple Poaching Charges Pending Against Michigan Man
OutdoorHub Reporters 04.01.12
A Michigan man is facing charges of poaching in two separate counties for numerous bucks he killed in the 2011 deer season.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials say they have evidence from a search of his home they executed in December. Officers found evidence of nine deer during the search, which the 30-year-old man admitted that he poached.
The man was arraigned on five charges of illegally taking deer in Huron County and an additional four charges are pending for alleged offenses in Saginaw County, according to DNR officers. He faces a penalty of $500 in fines, five days in jail, a $1,000 restitution per deer and court costs. His hunting privileges could be revoked in either county by a judge as well, according to Bob Hobkirk, the lead conservation officer in the investigation.
Officers were acting on an anonymous tip that was called in to the DNR’s Report All Poachers hotline. Interviews with his co-workers and friends gave DNR enough evidence to file for a search warrant. Upon entering his home, DNR officers found nine deer, of which the unnamed suspect confessed to shooting seven. He claimed to have found two antlers. The antlers, weapons (including a muzzleloader and compound bow) and other equipment related to the crime were seized.
Officials found several deer in the field during the investigation that were semi-processed, two had heads that were removed and another was found without skin.
The alleged poacher does not have a previous hunting-related record.
