OH: Pair plead not guilty in alleged hunting scheme

January 26, 2010

Pair plead not guilty in alleged hunting scheme

The legal troubles for the proprietors of Lethal Impact Outfitters, Elmer and Joseph T. (Todd) Payne, keep piling on. Last Thursday, Jan. 21, the father and son duo pleaded not guilty in Adams County Common Pleas Court to 15 counts each of breaking and entering, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

Charged by the grand jury was Elmer Payne with 14 counts of breaking and entering for allegedly trespassing on private land in Adams County on or about April 30 and May 1, 2008 and Nov. 16 and 20, 2008 with the purpose to commit a felony. He was also charged with engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity between Feb. 2, 2007 through Nov. 28, 2009, while being employed or associated with, conducted or participated in, the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of corrupt activity.

Also charged was Payne's son, Joseph Todd Payne, with 14 counts of breaking and entering for allegedly trespassing on private land in Adams County with the purpose to commit a felony and also faces a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity while being employed or associated with, conducted or participated in, the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of corrupt activity.

In September, 2009, the Paynes pleaded guilty to several wildlife violations filed by the Ohio Division of Wildlife, which included possession of a dead deer not properly tagged, attaching a temporary tag to a deer taken by another person, providing false information and hunting wild turkey over bait. Their guilty plea resulted in one year probation, loss of hunting privileges for one year, fines and court costs.

The Payne's are alleged to have trespassed on eight different Adams County properties while engaged in a "hunting guiding service" for which they charged $1,000 to $2,200 for a hunt on property for which they had no permission to hunt.

According to Adams County Prosecutor Aaron Haslam, the breaking and entering charges are a result of trespassing on the land or premises of said landowner with the purpose to commit a felony. The felony is the theft of the use of the property from the landowner and from the individuals paying for the hunt when permission to hunt the property was not granted, as in this case taking payment under false pretenses.

The charges are a result of an investigation conducted by the Adams County Prosecutors Office and the Ohio Division of Wildlife. Undercover wildlife officers, posed as hunting clientele for Lethal Impact Outfitters, booked hunts with the outfitters and documented the illegal activity.

If found guilty, the Payne's could face one to eight years in prison - although none of the charges carry a mandatory prison sentence. If no plea deal is reached, a jury is expected to hear the case in late summer.

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