Friday, January 9, 2004
Iowa City Press-Citizen
A West Branch man will spend 57 months in prison after
pleading guilty in September to illegally killing and transporting deer in
what has been called the biggest poaching case in Iowa history.
In addition to the prison sentence handed down Thursday in
U.S. District Court, George Allen Waters, 53, was ordered to pay $50,000 in
fines and restitution to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the
Colorado Division of Wildlife.
At the time of his plea, Waters admitted that from 1992
through fall of 2002, he repeatedly sneaked into locations in Iowa and
Colorado to poach record-class trophy whitetail deer. He did so without
authorization, with hunting licenses, during non-hunting seasons and used
weapons prohibited to hunting deer.
After killing the deer, he would take only the heads and
the antlers, leaving the remainder of the animal behind. He then would sell
the trophy racks for profit.
Waters said he poached no less than 30 whitetail deer in
Iowa having a total value of $120,000 and no less than nine elk and six mule
deer from Colorado valued at $150,000.
In May 2003, authorities seized numerous animal contraband
and firearms including a 9mm Leger Sten Mark II machinegun and eight other
firearms.
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