Poach Coach Cases

Case #1

Sgt Logan Eshom. Mule deer on inside left (1,2,3,&5).Hagerman, NM. Eshom received an anonymous tip about two deer poached out of season. He followed up on the reported location and found two carcasses approximately 2 weeks old with the heads removed and wounds consistent with a bullet hole. Following up with more information provided by the witness Eshom identified a suspect and conducted an investigation through the execution of multiple search warrants. The poachers eventually confessed to shooting deer without a license out of season and choosing to abandon the carcasses.

I – Felony Waste of game (2 counts). Unlawful possession (8 counts). Unlawful killing of deer out of season (2 counts).

2-Felony Waste of game (2 counts) Unlawful killing of deer out of season. Unlawful possession (2 counts)

I Rodriguez – revoked 10 years. 4650 fines. 741 fees. 364 days of probation.

J. Rodriguez -Revoked 5 years. 1200 in fines. 329 fees. 364 days of probation

Case #2

Sgt Adan Jaquez. Coues deer, bear, and mule deer #1 right door (RD3). Grant, Catron, Sierra, Hidalgo, Otero, Lincoln, Socorro, Dona Ana and Santa Fe counties. A residency investigation of the poacher revealed two physical addresses in AZ & NM. The poacher had been applying for hunts as a NM resident for over a decade. In a six-year period the poacher had harvested multiple big game animals: 4 deer, 4 elk, 1 bear, 1 oryx and 1 turkey. AZ Game and Fish officers were contacted to assist with the investigation and confirmed the two-state residency of the poacher.

Securing a fraudulent hunting license (13 counts). Unlawful killing (10 counts). Unlawful possession of big game (6 counts).

J Sanchez – Revoked 5 years. $5000 in civil fines.

Case #3

Sgt. Tyson Sanders. Barbary sheep on inside left (7 & 8). Rio Hondo. NMDGF officer Chavez notified Sanders about six men trespassing on private land in the Rio Hondo. One of them killed a barbary sheep on another person’s tag. Sanders’ investigation uncovered a second sheep harvested by the poacher. Officer Martsh located a hide at a taxidermy shop in ABQ that had been dropped off by the poacher. The tag number associated had been collected months later and belonged to another hunter, one of the six trespassers. The poacher confessed to killing three sheep.

Hunting with license issued to another. Killing on private w/o permission. Criminal trespass. Unlawful possession of barbary sheep. Hunting w/o a license. Unlawful killing. Exceeding bag limit.

revoked for 3 years. Over $300 in fees. $4000 in fines

Case #4

Officer Lonnie Morales and Corporal Matt Ordonez. Elk on Inside left 6. Union County. During muzzleloader season a witness contacted Officer Morales after hearing three rifle shots and seeing an elk run from the location of the shots. Ordonez found the suspects and learned the poachers had a Colorado hunting license. They claimed they wounded the elk in Colorado and pursued it into NM for 2.5 miles on state land where they shot it two more times and killed it. The poachers admitted they knew that the elk became NM state property when it crossed the state line. The bull was later scored at 388.

Unlawful killing of elk. Hunting w/o a license. Unlawful possession of elk.

Rifle taken valued at 3000. 6 months probation

Case #5

Sgt. Casey Ghert. Elk on IR2 . Cubero, NM. A report was made to the Department of Game and Fish to report trespassers and a bull elk that was largely left to waste. Ghert arrived the next day and with the help of the landowner, found a headless elk carcass with several broken arrows near or in the carcass on BLM property. The officer did a necropsy on the carcass and found that the pelvis and left rear femur bone were shattered. A 0.243 caliber bullet was recovered from the left leg of the elk. There was an ongoing archery elk hunt in unit 13. Finding a bullet in the elk indicated that it was taken with the use of a rifle during an archery only hunt. Evidence was collected including DNA samples from the elk carcass. Cameras on the private property identified a vehicle trespassing multiple times in the area the elk was found.

Several search warrants were issued, and a .243 rifle was found at one house and elk meat (that was genetically matched to that of the elk carcass found in the forest) was located in the other brother’s refrigerator freezer. The man who had the elk meat also turned in the elk skull to the Game Wardens.

Criminal trespass. Unlawful killing of an elk. Unlawful possession of an elk. Felony waste of game.

Revoked for 3 years. $4000.00 in civil fines. $226 in court costs.

Case #6

Elk Left door 5. Las Vegas, N.M. A man has this skull without having any documentation showing that was legally harvested. The head was seized under a search warrant issued for numerous other wildlife – related crimes.

Convicted of 10 wildlife – related crimes.

$10,000 in fines. $2,000 in civil damages.

Case #7

Officer Clay Moyers. Mule deer Right door # 4 . Clovis, NM. Officer Moyers received a tip from an Operation Game Thief report stating a large mule deer had been killed on private land. The report provided him with names and locations. Moyers confirmed the suspect had recently killed a deer and drew a deer tag. He checked the reported location finding a spent casing and blood in the vegetation. The property owner confirmed that he had not given written permission to anyone to hunt his land. During an interview the poach admitted to knowingly shooting the deer on private property without written permission.

Unlawful possession of deer. Hunting on private property without written permission.

Revoked for 3 years. $476 in fines.

Case #8

Lt. Andrew Armendariz. Oryx Right Door 4. Fort Bliss, N.M. Armendariz received an Operation Game Thief report that an oryx was illegally killed on Ft Bliss- McGregor Range by a solider. The solider had posted a photograph of an unlawfully killed oryx on his Facebook account. Missouri Department of Conservation Agents conducted an interview, and he confessed to killing the oryx unlawfully without a license. It was also learned, through the execution of multiple warrants, that the solider escorted another poacher to kill an oryx unlawfully. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden interviewed the poacher and he confessed to unlawfully killing and possessing an Oryx without a license.

K. Schimdt – Unlawful killing of oryx out of season. Unlawful hunting without a license. Unlawful possession of oryx.

A. Medeiros – Unlawful killing of an oryx out of season. Unlawful hunting without a license. Unlawful possession of oryx.

K. Schimdt – Revoked for 3 years. $3532 in fines

A. Medeiros – Revoked for 3 years. $2529 in fines

Case #9

Officer Anothy Chaves. Mule deer inside left 4. Organ Mountains. Chaves received a call about a mule deer buck shot near the Organ Mountains out of season. In the course of his investigation, he discovered the poacher had already been revoked from his hunting privileges, had not had a valid deer hunting license for seven years, and was a convicted felon. After obtaining a search warrant, Chaves seized the deer and other related evidence.

Unlawful hunting killing deer out of season. Unlawful possession of game. Hunting while revoked. Hunting on private property without permission.

$1100 in fines. $432 in fees. 364 days probation.

Case #10

Sgt. Andrew Teaschner. Mule deer inside right 5. Dalhart, N.M. Teaschner was called by a TPWD Game Warden who had information about a poacher claiming residency in both Texas and New Mexico. Teaschner discovered that although the poacher had lived in Texas for five years, he had killed an elk in the Gila with a resident tag. The poacher confessed to purchasing licenses unlawfully for several years and surrendered the elk mount.

Residency violation. Unlawfully killing. Unlawful possession.

$726 in fines. $400 donation to Operation Game Thief.

Case #11

Corporal Andrew Jolliff. Mule Deer skull and antlers. Loco Hills, N.M. A call came in from Colorado Parks and Wildlife about a serial poaching case. The poacher was wanted for two poached mule deer heads from Colorado. As the poacher was investigated, evidence emerged of further violations across state lines: from Texas, Louisiana, Nebraska and Arkansas to New Mexico. Jolliff contacted Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for help finding antlers from a mule deer that had been poached in Loco Hills. The antlers were seized and matched a skull Jolliff found using coordinates attached to a photograph in the poachers phone. The poacher was interviewed and confessed to multiple wildlife crimes.

Z. Nolan – Fishing without a license. Illegal possession of game fish. Hunting mule deer without a license. Unlawful killing of mule deer out of season. Felony waste of game. Illegal possession of mule deer.

18 months probation. Required Hunters Education. $10,047 in fines.