Ohio deer poachers ordered to pay more than $70K in restitution after lengthy investigation
Of the sundry ways citizens can become criminals in these United States, deer poaching doesn’t rank among the most sordid or the most penalized. Punishment, nonetheless, can be substantial when the crime fits.
A ring of players centered around A & E Deer Processing in Gallia County, Ohio, walked out of a court appearance this month with fines and orders to pay restitution totaling more than $70,000. Court costs totaled more than $6,700.
So ended “one of Ohio’s largest white-tailed deer commercialization cases, spanning four counties and two states,” the Ohio Division of Wildlife stated in a news release.
The case involving 14 defendants and 122 charges proceeded after lengthy investigation by Ohio wildlife enforcement officers with help from the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Charges, the wildlife division said, included “the illegal taking of deer, the selling of venison, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, grand theft, falsification, tampering with records, possession of untagged deer parts, hunting with an illegal implement and complicity to wildlife sales.”
The group lost hunting privileges for a collective 63 years. One of the guilty was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution, while another was ordered to pay $13,000.
Investigators seized more than 1,000 items during several searches conducted in February 2020, the wildlife division reported. Among the evidence seized: venison, venison processing equipment, deer harvest records, deer mounts and antlers, and hunting implements. Also discovered were a stolen rifle and illegally possessed firearm suppressors.
All seized evidence was forfeited to the wildlife division.
The selling of venison reportedly involved taking meat from customers’ deer brought to A & E for processing.
“Investigation revealed the owners and operators of the deer processing business falsely game checked deer, created false deer harvest records, falsified deer tags, exceeded deer hunting limits and stole venison from customers,” the wildlife division reported. “Falsified records allowed the deer processors to take and have in their possession more deer than they were lawfully allowed.”
Investigators reportedly also uncovered a covered-up moonshine still.
While the Ohio cheaters didn’t exactly get off easy, the fate of a cheating Kansas hunter suggests that when bad happens, it’s usually possible to find somebody worse off.
John Blick Jr. recently pleaded guilty to 33 counts involving deer poaching related to the illegal taking of 60 whitetails and mule deer. His punishment included 14 months in prison and $310,234 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism.
A report didn’t detail whether Blick’s forfeiture of hunting privileges for five years runs concurrently with his prison sentence. It did, however, note that Blick owed $15,000 in fines and $17,407 in restitution for three deer taken in 2019.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio deer poachers handed stiff penalties after lengthy investigation
