204" Montana Bighorn POACHED...By fish and game!!

I

Idahotrophyhunter

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GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- A Whitehall man who authorities say illegally guided an undercover agent with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on a hunting trip that resulted in the agent having to shoot a huge Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep last fall has been charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors.

John E. Lewton on Wednesday was charged in Jefferson County District Court with felony unlawful sale of a game animal.

On Monday, Lewton was charged in Chouteau County District Court with felony unlawful possession of a game animal, two misdemeanor counts of hunting without landowner permission, and a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license.

Also charged were Blake Trangmoe of Glendive and James Reed of Rexburg, Idaho. Each were charged with one felony count of unlawful possession of a game animal along with several misdemeanors.

The bighorn reportedly had a Boone and Crockett score of 204, ranking it among the largest ever recorded.


....Why did he kill the ram...could have missed on purpose!
 
I was wondering what the update was on this case. There was a thread about this when the news broke...but I could not find it.

Has it been determined how the 'undercover agent' got his tag? Drawing, f&g give him one?

My suspicion is he drew the tag legally and then was approached by f&g to 'help them out.' But that is just speculation...

Thanks for the update...
 
I know it's all part of the case against these losers but, it makes you wonder if there isn't another way to do this? Like you mentioned at the end...wouldn't the "client" popping off a round and "missing" work? I guess you wouldn't have the hard evidence then but damn...a 204 ram? Hope these clowns get nailed in court and "nailed" in prison...
 
Looks kind of phoney to me, probably some higher up in the Montana fish and game dept wanted a trophy to put in the office and authorized them to shoot a dandy. I know quite a few fishy deals here in Oregon where folks that have had a hand or have land that there transplanting the sheep too magically draw a tag. Hey I'm all for a fair draw and everyone should have a shot at a awesome animal, just not preference from the local game dept. I don't have a in so it looks like I'm SOL.
 
More info...

GREAT FALLS ? A Whitehall man who authorities say illegally guided a state undercover agent on a hunting trip that resulted in the killing of a huge Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep has been charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors.

John E. Lewton was charged in Chouteau County District Court Monday with felony unlawful possession of a game animal, two misdemeanor counts of hunting without landowner permission, and a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license. He was charged Wednesday in Jefferson County District Court with felony unlawful sale of a game animal.

Also charged on Wednesday were Blake Trangmoe of Glendive and James Reed of Rexburg, Idaho. Each were charged with one felony count of unlawful possession of a game animal along with several misdemeanors.

The bighorn reportedly had a Boone and Crockett score of 204, ranking it among the largest ever recorded.

According to court documents obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, investigators say Lewton flew over the hunting area in the Missouri Breaks and located the large ram for his client, who turned out to be an undercover agent with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.

Investigators say Reed talked by radio with Lewton and Trangmoe, who led the client and another undercover agent across private land to Reed.

Authorities say the undercover agent purposely missed the ram on his first shot, but the next day was placed so close to the ram that he had to shoot it to avoid revealing his identity.

Prosecutors say Lewton then told the undercover agent not to reveal that he used a plane to spot the animal, that they crossed private land or the exact location of the shooting.
 
Gotcha...thanks for the update. That makes a little more sense of it all.

"...the next day (the agent) was placed so close to the ram that he had to shoot it to avoid revealing his identity."

How about a better scenario though, "the next day the agent was placed so close to the ram that he had to shoot the scum poacher to avoid revealing his identity."

I have no love for punks like this.
 
the problem with this is that in order to be charged with the one felony in the case which was unlawful possession of a game animal, the agent had to shoot the animal. As bad as it is, i applaud the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks for catching the scumbags and undoubtedly saving more trophy animals.

Its lonely at the top.... just the way I like it.
 
If any Fish and wildlife agency is wanting another undercover "hunter" to possibly nail poachers by giving a tag and having someone shoot a record class big game animal,...i'm available :)

Sounds like a toad of a Ram. Any Pic's?

Joey
 
Wow. I hunted with John Lewton in the Missouri Breaks before (mule deer) and I will just say after hunting with him I'm glad this came out. Hope he gets all and more. Jerk.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-31-09 AT 08:23AM (MST)[p]I think this is the content of the original e-mail referenced in one of the news articles. As you can see the guy missed twice beofre having a shot at 100 yards.


FW: Mt Ram



Hi

Thought I would pass on a few photos of a RAM our hunter took yesterday in the breaks. He does not want his name revealed as he is not into sheep hunting and wishes to remain anonymous .

I found this ram before the season and this was the largest ram I had ever seen in Montana. I was wishing I had a contact number for the governor?s tag holder. I found out that he had hired an outfitter and not wanting to step on any toes I called a young man from Helena who had stopped by the shop and told me he had a tag.. He was a new resident to the state and it was his 1st time applying for sheep. I told him I had found a very big ram and that he needed to come up and try to get it .He told me he could not make it up as he did not have it in his plans . He had some phone calls to make and he could come up on Wednesday afternoon. I was In the breaks filming a sheep hunt and had two friends helping me James Reed and Blake Trangmoe. We decided it would be a good idea to keep a eye on this ram until the hunter could make it up. James went and camped on the ram and did not let it out of his sight for 4 days. He even slept on the hill with him. The hunter arrived on Wednesday afternoon we headed in to meet with James and make a plan to get on the Ram. It was a 4 mile walk from the nearest road. James was out of water and food and was glad to see us. We Quickly put together a plan and made a run on the ram .He had a 300 yd shot but pulled it . His gun was new and he was nervous as this was the 1st ram he had seen. The rams ran out across a big valley and went over the ridge . We headed back and would try to find them in the morning .We split up in the morning and James spotted them not far from the last place we had seen them the night before. He signaled us to come over. We tried to get a shot at them and they blew out again but this time went several miles. They were working their way through some low hills we made a run at them again and once again did not get off a shot We followed them for a mile and they slowed down and gave us a standing shot at 150 yards. He shot again and missed and then took one more shot on their way out of the canyon . James was still high pointing and once again saw which valley they went into so we made a run at them again. By now it was mid day and 85 plus degrees and very hot in the canyons. We came into the next canyon right on top of the rams and they were holding up in the shade. This time his shot was just over 100 yards and he hit the ram. It ran off but not far, laid down and it was all over. The Hunter had no idea what he had and did not seem too excited but James Blake and my self made up for that . We knew that this was a very special ram and would help strengthen the Montana sheep hunting program and help bring more money into the Mt. FWP program. Hopefully some day he will realize what a great trophy he has taken and the effort it takes to find and take a great trophy as this.

We Called this ram 44 magnum as I had guessed he was 44? long and the magnum for, well look at the photos!

The Ram was all of 44? and had a base pushing 18?. His 1st qtr was over 17? and his short horn was over 40?.

I have not skinned off the head yet and will give you a green score when I have a chance to put a tight tape on it

.John Lewton
 
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ap...090829&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=908290304&Ref=AR
great post/pic, thanks for sharing

JB
497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
A sad day indeed.
It is sad that Trophy-Hype pushes people to illegal activity.
John Lewton has made some of the best films on sheep hunting that I have seen. While I don't know him personally, I have always admired his work. Sometimes I think notoriety and fame tend to push people over the edge, perhaps thinking they are only fudging a little. It always comes back to bite you in the end.
It is sad that we get to that point and it is especially sad that a magnificent ram like that ended his days as poky bate.
 
See my response on the thread on main hunting forum. I would like some answers and the full truth to come out.
 
I'm glad undercover vice cops don't resort to commiting murder to try and bust bad guys. This was a world class f-up by the fish and game. My opinion has nothing to do with Lewton. I couldn't give two sheets about the guy. This is about fish and game going way over what is reasonable and taking one of the greatest trophy rams in modern times away from the sportsmen and women of the state of Montana. Some lucky hunter deserved a chance at this ram and now he is just a piece of evidence. If I had the Montana bighorn auction tag and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state of Montana only to have on of their employees kill the biggest ram alive in the state would cause me to get an attorney fast. This kind of crap is an absolute travesty and is beyond having an excuse for. To bust a guy for illegal guiding they kill a 204 ram. UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are hundreds of good wildlife officers out there working for low pay, and putting up with alot of crap and don't get the recognition they deserve and this keystone cop circus was a slap in the face to those folks.
 
well said Spy. I think after the first few shots, the intent was there. Bust them! At least the cop did not hand the gun to the guide and say "you shoot him"??!! Judas frickin' Priest!!! WTF :)
 
So.... the F&W wasted and shot a $200,000+ ram to bust a guy on possible trespassing charges! Nice Going!

None of the other charges appear legitimate.

I have guided sheep hunts with Lewton filming, he's a pretty good guy from what I had seen. The outfitters probably just didn't like to see him "guiding" for free, and pressured the F&W to try and sting him. BTW the $1000.00 would have paid for the pilot, and apparently flew more than 24 hours prior to any hunting (LEGAL). Besides, no one would "guide" a 200" plus ram for 1k, legit "guide" or not. He most likely had more than that in expenses alone to even find it. Could make a good Defamation of Character suit though. Maybe Lewton will get paid big after all.
Wonder if he'll make a video out of it. I can see the highlights: Watch the amazing plight of this magnificent state record class ram that is eventually shot by under cover F&W officers in an effort to try to bust me for trespassing ! Unbelievable.
 
misdemeanor trespassing? They killed a 204" ram in order to bust a guy for misdemeanor trespassing? wow...
 
Guess I was hunting last year and missed this. Such terrible news. What's the new news you're talking about?
 
The funny thing is, some other game wardens thought it was worth sacrificing the state record ram. What the eff is wrong with that line of thinking?

Idiots!
 
What should not be tolerated is moronic F&G officers who feel they need to break the law to pin it on someone else. Pathetic!
They had him for the tresspassing, using radios and aircraft. Great bust him for that.
 
So whats the scoop on this? I heard that they got off on most if not all of the charges
 
Uknow I'm a self appointed safety officer for my company (not an offical title just one I assigned for myself) and although I don't personally have anything responsiblites pertaining to the random drug test program I occassionally smoke a fat joint, or do a line of coke on my work desk to see if I can Lure out any drug users. So far I haven't caught anyone but they better look out if I do.
Don't you wish private industry got to follow the same rules as state and federal agencies. unbelievable
 
By Nick Gevock of The Montana Standard | Posted: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 11:15 pm | (0) Comments

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The Whitehall taxidermist acquitted by a Jefferson County jury last month of illegally buying a bighorn sheep ram killed during a state undercover operation has requested that the remaining charges against him be thrown out.
John Lewton should not have to go through a trial in Chouteau County on other charges relating to the September 2008 incident in which he was the target of a sting operation by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, attorney Jack Morris said in court records. If he did face the charges it would amount to double jeopardy by subjecting him to the same allegations of which he's already been proven innocent.
"Although Lewton was not charged with identical offense in Jefferson County District Court and in the case at bar, the attorney general is seeking to punish him for the same conduct he has already been acquitted for," Morris said in court records.
A judge placed Morris under a gag order requested by state Assistant Attorney General Barbara Harris.
Harris did not return a telephone call Tuesday seeking comment. She has not spoken with the press about the case.
The incident in question occurred in September 2008, when Justin Gibson, an undercover game warden, was accompanied by Lewton on a bighorn ram hunt in the Missouri Breaks east of Great Falls. State officials had issued Gibson a ram tag for the north side of the river to investigate Lewton for illegally guiding after years of complaints by licensed outfitters.
Gibson had approached Lewton about the hunt and on the second day shot a trophy bighorn ram. The state alleged that Lewton had guided the hunt and illegally used off-road vehicles, trespassed and used two-way radios while leading Gibson to the ram. Several weeks after the hunt Lewton bought the ram from Gibson for $5,000, which the state alleged was illegal because it was killed illegally.
But after a five-day trial, a jury in Boulder acquitted Lewton of the illegal purchase charge last month.
Harris is still pursuing charges of
misdemeanor illegal outfitting, felony transportation of an illegally killed
animal, illegal use of radios while hunting and trespassing charges in Chouteau County and trespassing and off-road vehicle use charges in Blaine County. The Chouteau County case was scheduled to go to trial in early May.
Morris, however, contends in court records that while the charges differ between counties, it was the same incident and the case could have gone forward in any of the jurisdictions. And the state failed to prove that Lewton broke any laws while pursuing the ram with Gibson in the Jefferson County case.
He said the state would present the same evidence in an effort to prove that the ram was killed illegally and that amounts to double jeopardy under the law.
"Both the Chouteau County case and the Jefferson County charge included, as part of the offense, the same premise of an unlawfully killed and-or taken game animal," Morris said.
Nick Gevock may be reached at [email protected].
 
Just wondering:

Would this story have played out the exact same, had the official shot a much smaller ram? Maybe this is just beating a dead horse but thought I'd throw it out there.

Beating-a-dead-horse.gif


Sneekey
 
It would be just as bad if it was a smaller ram but it got more reactions because it broke the state record. I see they are giving more tags for that area now. Not sure it will help the odds seeing as how the state is short a few hundred more due to pneumonia.
 
Google...montana ram poached

Should be first on the list, then check out the thread. Hope it helps.

Sneekey
 

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