Teenage Deer Poachers Receive Stiff Penalties

Monticello -- Five teenagers received some severe penalties recently for poaching deer in southeastern Utah.

All of the teens pleaded guilty to poaching deer during a two-month killing spree
near Monticello in 2005.

In December 2005, a concerned citizen called Division of Wildlife Resources Conservation Officer Chris Rhea to inform him that a number of deer had been poached in the Monticello area. Rhea received critical information from the caller that allowed him to locate a number of deer carcasses and identify five suspects.

During the investigation, Rhea found that five teens from the Monticello area had
used a spotlight to spot and kill at least five deer (four bucks and one doe) during
November and December. All of the five deer had been shot and left to rot. The
teens also shot other deer, but the deer didn't die immediately, and Rhea was
unable to locate them during the investigation.

The teens were tried in the 7th District Court and 7th District Juvenile Court in
Monticello. Each of them pled guilty to the charges filed in the case.

The court sentenced the five teenagers to 16 class A and 11 class B misdemeanors.
Combined restitution and fines amounted to $17,465 with a combined jail time of
23 months. The court suspended some of the jail time.

During the course of the investigation, the mother of one of the suspects hid the
weapons used in the incident. She was charged with evidence tampering and later
pled guilty to a class A misdemeanor. She was fined $925 and sentenced to 36 months
probation.

In addition to their monetary penalty and detention, the five teens may have their
privilege to hunt in Utah taken away for several years.

This case was made possible by a single person who stepped forward to report the
crime to authorities. If you witness a wildlife violation, please call your public
safety dispatcher or the DWR's Help Stop Poaching Hotline at 1-800-662-DEER
(3337).

"Rewards are available for information leading to arrests in poaching cases,"
Rhea says. "Wildlife is a heritage, enjoyed by and belonging to us all. Let's
not allow ourselves to be victimized by the lawless actions of a very small minority."