November 17, 2011
From YourHoustonNews.com
The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department law enforcement reports.
Hunter learns that bragging can lead to trouble - Wife bags her first
buck…Not!
Terrell County Game Wardens Saul Aguilar and Kenneth Stannard entered
a hunting camp on Oct. 5 and noticed a tagging violation on a hanging
10-point white-tailed buck. As the wardens talked with the couple
staying at the camp, they noted the man’s wife was particularly excited
about her first buck. She even offered her license and ID without being
asked.
After educating the couple on proper tagging requirements, Warden
Aguilar decided to take some time to talk with their 9-year-old boy, who
seemed intrigued by the wardens. After discussing his favorite
superheroes and passion for the outdoors, the boy said he sure wanted to
shoot a buck like the one his dad had shot and pointed to the hanging
buck. Citations were issued to the couple after the husband admitted to
shooting the deer and using his wife’s license to tag it.
High velocity camp prank not so funny after all
Val Verde County Game Wardens Kirk Clendening and Mike Durand
responded to a call of shots fired at a hunting vehicle on Oct. 5. When
the wardens arrived at the hunting camp, they found a large group of
extremely intoxicated hunters. Apparently a hunter who had left the
scene before the wardens arrived thought it would be entertaining to
shoot at a truck occupied by several people.
The wardens took statements and documented the bullet holes from a
high-powered rifle that went through the passenger side window and
exited the driver side windshield. Luckily, no one was hurt, but the
wardens are hoping to file deadly conduct charges against the
trigger-happy hunter when he’s identified.
Warden nabs felon with sawed-off shotgun
On Nov. 4, while patrolling the desert for hunting violations, El
Paso County Game Warden Hallie Dacy came across a man armed with an
illegal sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun with pistol grip. When asked why he
was in possession of a shotgun like this, he said he was out target
shooting.
A check determined that the individual had two violent offenses
pending, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The warden
confiscated the firearm. Felony charges pending.
No USDA inspection on this meat
Cherokee County Game Warden Eric Collins received a call on Nov. 3
from a local state trooper who said he had stopped a truck and found a
large amount of blood in the bed. Warden Collins met the trooper and the
driver of the vehicle at the sheriff’s department.
During the initial interview, the subject said he had killed a deer a
week before with his bow. After further questioning, the man admitted
killing the deer at night from a public roadway with a .22-caliber
rifle, as well as hunting numerous times without a hunting license. He
also admitted to only removing the back straps from the deer, discarding
the rest of the meat, and selling the back straps for $15 to one of his
friends. Cases pending.
Hole in more than one at the golf course
Montgomery County Game Warden Brannon Meinkowsky apprehended two
subjects on Nov. 4 after they had shot a doe at night on a local golf
course. In addition to the doe they killed, the men were also in
possession of an untagged 8-point buck. During the investigation, the
subjects also admitted to killing two deer at night and two deer during
the day on the golf course last year. Multiple cases pending.
Busted by his cell phone
Montgomery County Warden Brannon Meinkowsky was patrolling for
illegal night hunting on Nov. 4 when he noticed a truck driving
unusually slow through a subdivision known to have a lot of deer. The
vehicle was occupied by two males and one female armed with a .17
caliber rifle, a compound bow and three flashlights.
During the investigation, the warden found cell phone photos of one
of the men holding buck heads. The pictures had all been taken at night
and before deer season opened. The subject confessed to killing one of
the deer and provided information about the other deer killed out of
season. Multiple cases filed. Additional charges pending.
“Big” is in the eye of the beholder
Angelina County Game Warden Phillip Wood made contact with a hunter
on Nov.
5 and observed blood on a trailer. When he asked whether the subject had
killed something, the reply was “a big six point.”
After a short investigation, the warden located the deer horns at a
residence and found they had already been sawed in half. Turned out the
“big” deer taken in an antler-restricted county had only a 9 5/8-inch
spread. Citations issued.
Funny place for catalog orders
Shelby County Game Warden Mike Hanson received a call Nov. 7 from an
informant regarding trespassers on a hunting lease. The caller said two
vehicles left the highway, turned off their lights and proceeded down a
power company right-of-way. Using night vision equipment, Hanson was
able to locate the vehicles.
As the warden approached, a male jumped into one of the vehicles.
Meanwhile, a female in another vehicle became engrossed in reading a
catalog. The male said the female was his sister-in-law and he was just
meeting her there to purchase products from the catalog. Just the same,
the lease holder elected to file trespass charges.
No, really, I didn’t lay a hand on my wife
On Nov. 1 Harris County Game Warden Jennifer Inkster received a call
from the Pasadena Police Department about a possible hunting violation.
It turned out that out police had responded to a domestic dispute and
found a large amount of blood and a rifle in the suspect’s pick-up.
When questioned, the subject quickly admitted he shot a white-tailed
deer the previous weekend on his lease, and that the blood had nothing
to do with the domestic incident. Warden Inkster arrived and seized an
8-point buck and meat, and citations were issued.
Not everyone’s out deer hunting
Zapata County Game Wardens Roy Martinez and Shane Bailey set out on
Oct. 25 to check for illegal commercial fishing on Falcon Lake. After
several hours on the patrol boat, wardens observed two Mexican
commercial fishing vessels enter Texas waters just north of their
location.
As the wardens made their move to make contact, the subjects bailed
out into the brush. Border Patrol marine units came in to assist, and
while in route to the wardens’ location, they observed another vessel
just south of the wardens’ location. A total of three boats, a motor,
and 1,980 feet of gill net were seized.
Wild hog leads hunters astray
On the afternoon of Nov. 7, Llano County Game Warden Kevin Webb and
San Saba County Game Warden Brad Reeves responded to a 911 call
regarding two lost hunters on a 20,000-acre property in San Saba County.
The two wardens, with help from the rancher, were successful in locating
the two hunters and returning them to their deer camp.
The hunters had wounded a feral hog that morning and started tracking
it when they became lost. The hunters were several miles from their camp
when wardens and rancher located them.
Bragging can get you in trouble
On deer season opening day, Williamson County Game Wardens Turk Jones
and Joel Campos were patrolling a subdivision in Liberty Hill off U.S.
183 when Campos spotted a man in camo holding a rifle in his front yard.
The wardens made contact, and the first thing the hunter said was, “Look
at what I shot during archery season.”
The hunter then displayed antlers from an 8-pointer. Warden Campos
inspected the man’s license and found he had an antlerless tag missing.
Warden Campos brought this to the man’s attention, and he said, “Well,
you got me; let’s change the story and say my cousin shot that one.”
Warden Campos told him he couldn’t do that, and the hunter finally
admitted he’d been bragging to people that he shot it. But as a further
investigation revealed, in reality he cut the antlers off a road kill he
found. Antlers were confiscated and citations were issued.
