Gamewarden Blotter
IS IT STILL A VIOLATION IF I MISSED?
A Fannin County hunter heard two rifle shots while in his stand coming from an area where the hunter had spotted a large buck earlier. As the hunter left the field, he noticed a truck parked on the county road and a man with a rifle walking down the roadside. The hunter wrote down the license plate number and called the game wardens. Grayson County Game Wardens Michael Hummert and Colt Gaulden responded, but were unable to find any evidence because of a storm that had moved into the area. The wardens went to the home of the vehicle’s registered owner and began to question him as to his actions earlier in the day. The man initially denied shooting from the road, but further questioning revealed that he had shot twice from the road and missed a large buck. Cases pending.
WHAT BAG LIMIT?
Responding to a tip, Parker County Warden Ronald Mathis and Palo Pinto Warden Matt Waggoner cited a resident for exceeding the county bag limit by two white-tailed bucks. The subject had killed three bucks with an inside spread over 13 inches and failed to tag any of them. Cases and restitution pending.
WATERFOWL ID COURSE NEEDED
Trinity County Game Wardens Sam Shanafelt and Randy Watts checked a duck hunter on Lake Livingston. They found an unplugged shotgun, no hunter education and a double-crested cormorant. The hunter thought it was a common merganser. Citations were issued.
FLOUNDERING FOLLIES
Galveston County Game Warden Brian Scott cited a retail business for purchasing flounder from an unlicensed individual and Galveston County Game Warden Jamie Pendlebury cited an individual for selling flounder without a commercial license. Galveston County Game Wardens Robert Kana, Mauricio Canales, Vu-Bang Nguyen, Mack Chambers and Adam Clark issued several citations for exceeding the limit of flounder. Game Warden John Feist issued several citations for individuals being over the limit of flounder. Some of the locations where flounder had been hidden include numerous compartments on boats, under the seats on trucks and cars, wrapped within clothing and hidden in backpacks. Chambers and Nguyen caught two individuals who exceeded the limit of flounder by 14 and 16 fish. Game Wardens Antone Jackson and Chambers arrested three individuals fishing on Bolivar who were in possession of a significant amount of methamphetamines. One of the individuals was a convicted felon who was in possession of a firearm. Cases pending.
FACEBOOK POST STRIKES AGAIN
Harris County Game Wardens Kelly Newman and Kevin Malonson investigated a poaching complaint after receiving a tip from a Tomball police detective. Newman gathered information about a young man who posted a picture on Facebook of a 9-point buck in the back of a pickup, with the statement, “Tomball poaching.” The young man admitted to killing the deer on a property without permission to hunt. Cases pending.
REPEAT OFFENDER BACK FOR MORE
Fort Bend County Game Warden Mike Weiss and Brazoria County Game Warden Jason Richers arrested a subject on warrants for hunting without landowner consent and criminal trespass with a deadly weapon. This is the eleventh time the subject has had charges filed on him by game wardens from five different counties. The recent charges were filed after a rancher apprehended the subject on his property in September. Weiss cited the same man after he caught him with an illegally taken deer on the same ranch back in 2009. The subject, driving his employer’s Jaguar, showed up at a meeting with Weiss and Richers, expecting a discussion about a rifle that had been seized by the landowner. Instead, he was arrested and placed in the Fort Bend County Jail, and the Jaguar was impounded. Cases pending.
THIS DEER WILL COST MORE THAN $30
Jim Hogg County Game Warden Carlos Maldonado and Duval County Game Warden Ram Coronado received a phone call from a hunter stating that there was a deer lying on the side of the road that had been gutted. He also stated that there was a blue pickup truck parked nearby and it had taken off when they saw the hunters. The license plate the hunter gave the wardens came back to a resident whom the wardens had dealt with before for hunting illegally. Maldonado waited near the deer, and the suspect returned and loaded the deer in the trunk of a 4-door passenger car. When the wardens arrived at the suspect’s house, they found a 5-point buck lying on the back porch. When the wardens asked where he had gotten the deer, he stated that he had bought it for $30 from a friend. Blood was found in the trunk of the passenger car and on the suspect’s boots and hunting knife. The suspect eventually admitted to shooting the deer from the side of the roadway with a .22 caliber rifle. Charges were filed and the cases are pending.
DECOY SHOOTER NOT HAPPY TO SEE WARDENS THIS TIME
Lamb/Bailey/Cochran County Game Warden Lance May, Hockley/Yoakum/Terry County Game Warden Jay Oyler, and Deaf Smith/Castro/Parmer County Game Warden James Cummings worked a mule deer decoy operation in Lamb County. Within five minutes of setting up the decoy, a subject stopped, got out of his truck and shot the decoy with a rifle. Earlier, at a restaurant, this same subject told the game wardens how glad he was to see them out. Cases are pending.
HANG ON, MR. WARDEN, WHILE I SHOOT AT THIS AXIS
Receiving a call about an injured axis on the highway, Edwards County Game Warden Scott Holly responded to the location and observed a vehicle pulled off the highway. Holly observed an individual standing in a shooting position and the action of a gun being fired. As Holly approached the vehicle, he noticed again the man fire a shot from his pistol across the road. Pulling up next to the vehicle, Holly observed the man fire a third shot at an axis deer on the roadway. Holly exited his vehicle and approached the man who was shooting at the axis. Holly educated the men that they were not allowed to shoot from a public roadway. Citations issued and charges pending.
PROBABLY NOT KISSING COUSINS
An individual reported that his cousin shot a deer beside his home without a hunting license to Harrison County Game Warden Darrin Peeples. The following day, Peeples and Game Warden Todd Long went to the subject’s home and located the deer carcass with just the back straps removed. The wardens obtained a confession that the subject shot the deer with a .22 long rifle. A warrant check also revealed that the subject had a family violence warrant. The subject was taken into custody and transported to the Harrison County Jail. Multiple charges pending.
TAGS FILLED, THEN THE BIG BUCK APPEARED
Leon County Game Warden Oscar Henson received information that a local man had killed a big deer and it was at a taxidermy shop being mounted. After conducting several interviews, it was discovered that the subject shot the deer, but used his sister’s tag on it because he had already killed a 13-inch deer during bow season. Citations were issued and a 148-class 12-point was seized.
ROADKILL APPETIZERS THWARTED
Williamson County Game Warden Joel Campos was notified by the sheriff’s office that an 8-point buck got hit off Highway 183 in Liberty Hill. As he approached the scene, Campos noticed a truck parked close to the deer. Campos watched a man open his tailgate and load the deer onto his truck. As the driver was attempting to leave, Campos stopped the vehicle. The driver stated he loved the antlers and wanted the deer meat for his party that night. A citation was issued.
NONRESIDENTS WANTED TO BE TEXANS
Edwards County Game Warden Scott Holly filed two cases for nonresident hunters hunting under a resident license. The hunters had purchased nonresident licenses in prior years. Unfortunately for the hunters from Louisiana and Illinois, Holly remembered them from prior years and the out-of-state tags on the vehicle and the Texas ID and out-of-state driver license didn’t add up. One deer was confiscated, citations were issued and civil restitution is pending.
THE STEAM WAS THE SMOKING GUN
Travis County Game Wardens Theron Oatman and Braxton Harris got behind a truck that was working a spotlight on a FM road. After following the truck for several miles, they made a stop. There were three men inside the truck along with a loaded .270, a pistol and a spotlight. The wardens noticed there was a deer in the back of the truck with steam coming off of it. The suspects stated they had killed the deer right before dark, but the traffic stop was made at approximately 10:45 p.m. After a long interview with all three suspects, it was found the deer was killed around 10 p.m. off the road. Cases pending.
DOG WALKING WARDEN NETS FISHING VIOLATOR
Game Warden Albert Flores and his wife were out for a stroll with their dog on the Port Aransas' south jetty when Flores observed an individual struggling to carry a sack heavy with fish off the jetty. Upon identifying himself, Flores discovered two oversized and untagged redfish. With the assistance of a deputy constable, the individuals involved were identified and cases are pending.
HUNTERS, NEIGHBORS AID OCCUPANTS OF OVERTURNED BOAT
Palo Pinto County Game Warden Cliff Swofford responded to a call regarding an overturned boat with people in the water on Lake Palo Pinto, and found duck hunters pulling the three men from the water onto their boat. At a nearby boat dock, neighbors brought electric blankets and coffee to help prevent hypothermia while awaiting an ambulance. All three men were OK.
TRESPASSER TRIES TO HIDE MORE THAN GUN
A hunter called Tarrant County Game Warden Clint Borchardt and advised that while hunting he observed an individual come onto his food plot with a firearm. Borchardt contacted Tarrant County Game Warden David Vannoy to assist in locating the individual. As the wardens arrived, Tarrant County deputies had located and detained the individual who had tried to stash his camo and shotgun in the woods nearby. The shotgun, camo and drug paraphernalia were recovered from the brush. Multiple cases are pending.
BIG BUCK’S BODY DUMPED, HEAD LOCATED BY WARDEN
Jasper County Game Warden Morgan Inman received a call from Newton County Game Warden Landon Spacek stating that he had received information about white-tailed deer being dumped on a resident’s property, minus the head. After meeting with the landowner, Inman was surprised to find that the landowner had seen the violator and knew who he was. At the violator’s residence, the violator admitted to throwing out the deer and said, “Well, I guess you want the head.” Inman replied, “That is what I am here for.” The violator opened a freezer and pulled out a buck with 13 scoreable points and three more that were broken off. Cases pending.
CLAIM OF MISSING A HOG THWARTED BY SPIKE LEFT BY CHAIR
Waller County Game Warden Kevin Glass received a call regarding a person who had shot a deer without consent. Glass called Harris County Game Warden Cullen Stakes to assist. The wardens found a chair near the fence and a spike buck pulled under some brush on the fence. The shooter had shot from his property onto the neighbor’s and crossed a fence to retrieve the deer. Glass drove back to the hunter’s vehicle, where the man was trying to leave. The man admitted to shooting but said he had missed a hog. Glass informed the hunter that Stakes was at the deer he left in the brush near his chair. The poacher, a convicted felon, then owned up to the truth. Cases pending.
NUMBER OF TAGS ON LICENSE NO EXCUSE
Comal County Game Warden Michael McCall contacted two men who were observed loading a deer. At the location, McCall found two men standing near a pickup containing a freshly killed buck. An inspection of one man's hunting license revealed all of the buck tags had been used and the harvest log had not been completed. The man explained that this was his third buck taken from this property this season. McCall explained that Comal County has a two-buck bag limit and also how to fill in the information on the harvest log. The man said he believed he could take three bucks because there are three buck tags on the hunting license. The deer was seized, and the hunter was cited for exceeding his bag limit of buck deer in Comal County. Case and restitution now pending.
MAN PHOTOGRAPHED MESSING WITH GAME CAMERA’S TIMER
Callahan County Game Warden James Brown responded to a complaint that a subject was trespassing and had been interfering with the timer on a hunter’s deer feeder. The complainant furnished James with a picture taken from a hidden game camera. James recognized the subject in the picture and filed trespassing charges.
RALLYING DUCKS BY BOAT WATCHED BY WARDEN
Freestone County Game Warden Craig Hernandez observed duck hunters on Richland Chambers Lake hunting on an island. After watching the hunters a few hours, one of the hunters got in the boat and drove around the coves in the area to scare the birds. Cases pending for unlawfully rallying game birds.
