By Dawn Bowen
Carlsbad Current-ArgusArticle - 01/22/2007
CARLSBAD One of two Sapello men accused of illegally killing a doe in
October in the Guadalupe Mountains has pleaded guilty to two charges.
Daniel Spurlin, 33, of Sapello, pleaded guilty in Magistrate Court on
Thursday to unlawful killing of a doe deer and unlawful possession of a
doe deer. He was fined $400 and ordered to pay $114 in court fees.
A representative of the New Mexico Game and Fish Department has said
Spurlin could have his hunting and fishing privileges revoked for up to
three years.
A second man, Anthony Salazar, 29, of Sapello, has pleaded not guilty
to unlawful possession of a doe deer. A court hearing is set in February
in that case.
The two men were issued citations after District Wildlife Supervisor
Bryan Nygren found the carcass of a doe wrapped in a tarp and hidden
near the men's campsite in the Guadalupe Mountains near Queen in
October.
According to court documents, the men had a high-powered rifle and a
scoped muzzleloader with an in-line ignition in their vehicle when
Nygren stopped them on Oct. 21 along Forest Road 527 near State Road 137
at Red Lake.
The men were allegedly hunting in the area during a restricted
muzzleloader deer hunt. According to the current big game proclamation,
no scopes, in-line ignitions or rifles are permitted during the
primitive muzzleloader hunt.
Nygren spoke with the men, and then followed them to their campsite.
He found the deer carcass about 75 yards away, hidden in some brush and
wrapped with a tarp that was secured with two belts. Nygren examined the
carcass and found a large hole where the neck met the shoulder that was
consistent with a wound caused by a high-powered rifle, a criminal
complaint states.
The two men were issued citations and summoned to court. Both men
were released on their own recognizance.
