The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement reports.
Judge Orders No Hunting Weekends
A district court judge in Grayson County recently ordered a man convicted of poaching a big white-tailed buck to spend every weekend of hunting season in jail for the next five years.
In addition to five years of probation, and over $18,000 in civil restitution penalty, John Walker Drinnon must report to the Grayson County Jail each weekend of deer season starting Dec. 30 for the full term of his deferred judgment period.
The 34-year-old from Whitesboro, Texas, is also prohibited from purchasing a hunting license while on probation. Drinnon admitted to killing a 19-point buck with a gross Boone & Crockett score of 202 inches with a rifle (in an archery-only county) while trespassing on private property; a state jail felony.
Getting Off to an Early Start
Opening day of deer season a Smith County game warden was visiting a local meat processor when a young man showed up with a nice buck he claimed to have harvested earlier that morning. What he failed to mention was just how much earlier.
A month later, the warden received an anonymous tip that the deer the young man shot had been harvested well before legal shooting hours on the season opener. The warden tracked down the hunter and after a short interview, the young man admitted he had shot that deer at about 3 a.m. while hog hunting.
The antlers and remaining deer meat were seized and multiple citations were issued for illegal harvest at night and hunting deer out of season. The cases are pending.
Did You Find Your Dog?
In early November, a Harrison County game warden was contacted by a landowner who came upon a suspicious man on her property while she was bow hunting. The man told her he was looking for his wife’s dog, and departed. Later that evening the landowner reviewed her game camera footage and saw the same guy lurking about on two previous occasions.
On the first occasion the game camera caught the individual shooting at a white-tailed doe and miss. A couple of days later, the same subject returned and shot a white-tailed doe. Wardens questioned area residents and based on images from the game camera were able to identify the suspect at a nearby residence.
After an interview, the man admitted to trespassing and shooting the deer. Numerous charges and restitution are pending.
The One That Got Away
On Nov. 25, Terrell County game wardens received a phone call reporting suspicious deer at a hunting camp. When the wardens arrived at the location, they found three hunters. The trio claimed a bunch of deer showed up near their hunting blind that they assumed were white-tailed bucks, so all three individuals took shots.
When the hunters walked over to retrieve the deer, they found they had shot two antlerless mule deer. Since they did not possess the required permits, they panicked and attempted to hide the carcasses. The third hunter, who failed to make his shot on the deer, gave no excuses for his poor marksmanship and was just happy he missed.
The wardens educated the hunters about proper game identification and issued citations for taking antlerless mule deer without a permit. The cases are pending.
Failure to Hide the Evidence
Officers with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office were at a residence serving warrants for a recent burglary when they noticed a large amount of deer guts scattered all over the front yard, and notified game wardens. A warden responded to the residence to investigate.
After collecting evidence and conducting a lengthy interview, the warden obtained confessions from two individuals who admitted to shooting two deer from a public roadway on two different occasions.
Charges for felon in possession of a firearm, hunting from the public roadway, waste of game, hunting with illegal means and methods and no hunting license are pending.
Can’t Fool Me Twice
Earlier this month a Navarro County landowner contacted game wardens regarding a second road hunting incident in as many weeks where someone shot a deer off his property from the road. Wardens had investigated the first incident, but were unsuccessful in locating enough evidence to identify a suspect.
With backup from the Navarro County Sheriff’s Office, wardens were able to nab the individuals responsible after the second poaching incident. Once alerted by the landowner, officers immediately converged on the scene.
Sheriff’s deputies made a traffic stop on a vehicle in the vicinity that did not match the description of the perpetrator, but did have a freshly killed deer in the bed.
As it turns out, the subjects had switched vehicles after making the kill, and stashed their hunting gear before returning to pick up the deer. A full confession was obtained regarding both violations.
Eight Class A misdemeanor charges, along with restitution, are pending. The rifles were located and seized.
Still Filling Last Year’s Tags
While inspecting a local meat processing plant, a Cherokee County game warden discovered a recently executed deer tag from last season’s license. After running the subject through the department’s database, it was determined the subject did not currently possess a valid hunting license, nor had he completed mandatory hunter education certification.
A couple of days later, the warden met with the hunter at his residence and requested to see the subject’s hunting license. While looking over the expired hunting license, it was determined that he had also taken a buck a few days prior, which the warden asked to see.
In addition to being tagged with an expired tag, the buck’s antlers did not meet the county antler restrictions. Citations were issued for taking deer with an expired hunting license, taking a buck deer that did not meet county antler restrictions, harvest log violations and no hunter education. The cases are pending.
Not a Duck Hunter Video Game
While patrolling Limestone County, a game warden heard several shots coming from a nearby tract of land. Upon further investigation, the warden located an individual who was using his .30-30 rifle to shoot at ducks as they flew past.
The subject did not possess a hunting license. He was given a brief lesson on bullet trajectory and firearm safety, among other things. The cases are pending.
