Repeat Wisconsin Poacher Caught and Convicted in Crawford County
OutdoorHub 04.04.12
A former Crawford County man who lost his hunting license for six years in 2009 was back in circuit court a second time Monday when he was convicted for illegally killing a 10-point buck and more deer later that same year.
Tyler Gray, 25, was convicted in Crawford County Circuit Court on eight counts involving hunting after revocation, hunting without a license, using or possessing another’s tag. The charges stemmed from Gray’s hunting of deer and coyotes in Crawford County in 2010 which was after his hunting license was revoked.
Gray’s total penalties ordered by the court on Monday were $3,709.05. Judge James P. Czajkowski also extended the revocation of Gray’s hunting privileges until 2018, three years longer than the original license revocation until 2015.
This was the second time Gray had been convicted. In 2009, Gray was ordered by a Richland County Circuit judge to pay $5,113 and surrender his hunting gun, his bow and his hunting license for six years. That year he was convicted on 20 counts related to shooting multiple deer from the roadway during December 2008 and January 2009.
But that conviction didn’t stop him. But concerned citizens did.
Conservation wardens in the area started getting citizen reports that Gray was back out hunting later that same year. Warden Supervisor Tyler Strelow of Dodgeville took the lead on the case that involved several other DNR conservation wardens.
“He (Gray) told me he could not give up hunting even though he knew he was revoked. He said it twice,” Strelow said in his report of the conversation he had with Gray about the citizen tips. “He (Gray) admitted to killing four deer in 2010 and one of those was a large 10-point buck. He shot it with his bow.”
Strelow said the investigation revealed hunting done with gun and bow by Gray after his license revocation, and that he shot a coyote in 2010.
“He (Gray) thought he was doing everything legal except that he did not have a license and could not hunt,” Strelow said. “This man just simply didn’t care about the law or the fact that he was breaking the law and stealing opportunity from law-abiding hunters.”
“The conservation wardens investigating this case did an outstanding job identifying and citing this repeat offender,” Crawford County District Attorney Tim Baxter said. “Offenders like Mr. Gray need to be brought to justice for the benefit of both the resource and for the rest of Wisconsin’s law – abiding sportsmen and women. These wardens should be commmended for their efforts.”
