Poaching: A True Story

[ForkWest]

There is always a lot of discussion here on MM regarding the punishment for poaching. Some would like to see long term jail time and $100k fines. Others think it should be far less when comparing punishments for crimes against humans versus animals. In the end it's all opinions and rhetoric?until you read this story.

Six defendants, 75 counts, 29 heads confiscated, 5 years in the courts, 0 convictions?but that's not all!

What's your take after reading the whole story?

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/hunted/Content?oid=2619620

http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/hunted/Content?oid=2619620

 

[BuzzH]

My take...theres a lot more to the whole story than this snippet.

 

[DW]

Kinda like what we're seein on our tv as we speak. We didn't get all the info the grand jury got so how do we form an intelligent opinion without all the facts. I agree buzz. But from the little peak we got meister should b fired. But I suspect there's more we don't know

 

[nontypical]

Sounds to me like a typical over-zealous DA with a power trip.

Sounds to me like an angry woman led law enforcement to believe many lies??

Doesn't sound to me like there was ever any hard evidence against this family? Am I missing something here??

Was the taxidermist ever questioned? I'd like to hear what he has to say. Any witnesses?? The article doesn't mention any.

I remember when this story broke a few years ago. Many on MM were quick to convict and hang these guys( including me...I'm not fond of poachers!). But now, I question those thoughts. In most cases, where there's smoke, there's fire. I now have reasonable doubt...

I wonder how many MM'ers only have one or two trophys on the wall?? I'm guessing if these investigators came to my house, they would think I'm a poacher too???

 

[TOPGUN]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-04-14 AT 04:58PM (MST)[p]>Sounds to me like a typical
>over-zealous DA with a power
>trip.
>
>Sounds to me like an angry
>woman led law enforcement to
>believe many lies??
>
>Doesn't sound to me like there
>was ever any hard evidence
>against this family? Am I
>missing something here??
>
>Was the taxidermist ever questioned? I'd
>like to hear what he
>has to say. Any witnesses??
>The article doesn't mention any.
>
>
>I remember when this story broke
>a few years ago. Many
>on MM were quick to
>convict and hang these guys(
>including me...I'm not fond of
>poachers!). But now, I question
>those thoughts. In most cases,
>where there's smoke, there's fire.
>I now have reasonable doubt...
>
>
>I wonder how many MM'ers only
>have one or two trophys
>on the wall?? I'm guessing
>if these investigators came to
>my house, they would think
>I'm a poacher too???

That last paragraph is sort of like I sometimes wonder what would happen if I got stopped when going through Illinois with the big stack of rifles behind the seat in my truck that I take out to Wyoming on my hunts every Fall. I'd probably be in the slammer forever for being a terrorist, LOL!!!

 

[treedagain]

what a joke. I am both shocked and sadden to read this story. The UDWR is not our (blue collar hunters) friend. this is just one example of there unprofessional dealings. I have hunted almost every state west of the Mississippi and can say without a doubt the UDWR is at the very bottom of the list, by a long shot. but of course these clowns (DA and wardens) are protected by the same legal system they use as a sledge hammer to beat a conviction out of a innocent person or price them out of their legal rights for a fair and speedy trial.


How to start an argument online:
1. Express an opinion
2. Wait

 

[eelgrass]

This story reinforces my long standing belief: If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

4 years of scratching and digging and all they have are multiple dead bodies?

Eel

It's written in the good Book that we'll never be asked to take more than we can. Sounds like a good plan, so bring it on!

 

[Zeke]

Wow! Ain't that special?
I agree with the others; We'll never know the truth or the whole story.
Zeke

 

[elkassassin]

I'm Sure we didn't see all the Racks!

I never seen one of them worth getting your Ass in Trouble!

I believe most Hunters Have Bent some Rules/Laws sometime in their day!

According to the Wife several were Poached?

She must of been right there with him on several of them?

Most of them Racks looked like Racks capable of getting most years if you were a Good Hunter!

Somebody here in TARDville must know these Guys?

When Divorces happen here in TARDville it's amazing how many Big Game Violations are all of a sudden Reported!

I didn't see any Racks(And I'm sure we never seen a fraction of them!)that were big enough to Chance Me Losing my Next Years PISSCUTTER Tag!

Somebody knows something?





[font color="redhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMsueOnu0kY

 

[ZIGGER]

The DA should step it up a notch......poachers are dropping like flies....keep the pressure on and clean out the whole bunch....

 

[HayZeus]

"Meister pleaded no contest to 10 counts of taking wildlife on improper licenses, and paid $4000 in restitution." This weasel p o s poacher gets away with 10 counts of poaching by pleading "no contest" and Utah DWR names him prosecutor of the year. WTF? How is that possible? That is absolutely mind boggling. "6 defendants, 75 counts, over 4 years, 0 convictions". Is this idiot still a prosecutor? Do the investigators still have a job? How much money was wasted on this cluster f#*k? This is a good example of why you should never jump to conclusions or trust a pos hypocrite prosecutor who needs convictions, at any cost, to "rise through the ranks". FTW-Hang em high!

 

[jray]

What a joke! My blood's boiling after that. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Poachers or not, this was obviously completely unprofessional and unconstitutional on the prosecution. Unbelievable! I've lost any trust I had in our wildlife officers and our BS judicial system.

It's definitely a lot of heads the Jensen's had in their possession but a little simple grade school math could easily account for them in total years of hunting.

Guys with nice trophy rooms better not have a nasty falling out with your wife! If she makes up a story to the DWR about how you acquired your trophies, you're guilty without question and will be treated worse than murderers, dealers and rapists. What a great world we live in!

 

[sageadvice]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-04-14 AT 11:03PM (MST)[p]One of the things i conclude after reading this whole mess is, if you do get accused and are charged, it's best if you can afford a decent Attorney.

Joey


"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"

 

[Gator]

Sure didn't see a lot of MONSTER racks, The guy running the video camera should be fired, worse job of holding a camera I have seen.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".
>[Font][Font color = "green"]Life member of
>the MM green signature club.[font/]

 

[Stonefly]

I had to reread the part where the kid admitted that Dad shot a Deer while chucker Hunting... Like Bess I remember the story, It was my understanding at the time that everything was dismissed due to the fact that the Judge, and Witnesses had passed away. As for the prosecutor, That P.O.S. should be in jail IMO. Not sayin that these folks were right or wrong. I think there is a lot of touchy feely crap that goes on when there is a sad story involved. Like the moose poacher the other day that got his fishing and small game privileges back because he had a sob story. I don't blame the DWR for investigating this story, After all its there job. NO im not a defender of the DWR, you all should know that. It seams like there are a lot of problems within this family, and again , not sayin they are right or wrong, but if I were investigating a case like this, I would go at it full throttle myself. I dont blame the DWR for any of this, this was brought to them. There is IMO to much blame these days placed on public servants that do their jobs, and media reports it in a way to make them the bad guys. Just my 2 cents worth

 

[Muleymonster]

I have been in that house, I couldn't believe all of the big bucks on the wall. The garage was loaded with smaller racks with the skull plates still attached. Seemed a little fishy to me at the time.

 

[Iowan]

Sounds like everyone involved was served a heavy dose of karma.

 

[DeerMadness]

This whole thing reeks of something we will never find out.

 

[huntin50]

What a sad turn of events for everyone. No winners for sure. I agree, the whole truth isn't going to be found out.

 

[Elkduds]

My take is I'm gonna continue to stay far away from anything that looks like poaching, and do what I can to stop it when I see it.

This story is 10% about poaching, and 90% about family and legal drama.

 

[Calif_Mike]

Wow what a mess. Perfect example why you don't serve a warrant or try to make a case off one informant. You always have to confirm through other sources.

 

[Zim]

The only way we're gonna find out the truth is to get the whole bunch on about 4 episodes of Jerry Springer and fire up the lie detector. Could take a while.

***********************************
Member RMEF, Pope & Young Club, NRA, UWC & DP Hate Club

 

[foundation]

I'm always leary of anything from the City Weekly. Hardly fair to call that a newspaper and take much stock in anything they print.

 

[elkun]

zim ,any body that watches jerry...... well you know,,,,,

 

[Zim]

>zim ,any body that watches
> jerry...... well you
>know,,,,,

You can count on my ex to watch for sure.

***********************************
Member RMEF, Pope & Young Club, NRA, UWC & DP Hate Club

 

[elkassassin]

Hey Zim?

Watch?

Or!

Participate?

And by the way Zim?

Which Ex you talkin bout?







[font color="redhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMsueOnu0kY

 

[Zim]

>Hey Zim?
>Watch Or Participate?
>Which Ex you talkin bout?

Only got one ex. The garbage from Texas that sheetcanned her 4 year degree from SWTSU and refused to support our kids. Pure chicken fried steak eatin, Jerry Springer watchin, trailer trash. She'd definitely be tuned in from the Austin home I paid for. Probably pay the cable bill from the money she stole from my kid's college funds.


***********************************
Member RMEF, Pope & Young Club, NRA, UWC & DP Hate Club

 

[elkun]

and think elkassassin their not even from the upper country. or the rez!!!

 

[hossblur]

2 things. 1 the story about "hack a rack". Funny that she could come up with a name out of the blue. Second, the chukkar story. Seems to be a lot of SMOKE. The question is, WHY were they talking to mom to start with. I doubt highly it was because she called them, or some DWR guy drove by and saw some heads. A few years back a local guy killed a mexican wolf. He came from a notorious "poaching" family, but he was INNOCENT, the DWR was persecuting him, etc, etc. Until they showed him the video of him they had out poaching pheasants, OOOOPPPPSSS. Poachers are virus', plain and simple. Seems you could check their IRS statements. All those heads, birds, fish, etc, how much did this guy make to spend that much on taxidermy?
Funny that these guys loved the animals so much it "honored" the animal to mount it, but they didn't have any pics? You know, this is the buck I killed in 2012 during the season,(pay no attention to the 3 feet of snow, because there was no snow on the ground that Oct.), or the pics with the big deer they killed out on the west desert(pay no attention to the aspen and pines, we found the one spot out there not covered in sage and cedars).
Heres what I learned from Ferguson and New York. If you don't walk the edge of the law, you don't need to fear the cops. I don't worry about prison for poaching, I DON'T poach.
By the way, getting someone to flip on someone else is pretty common, that isn't an overzealous DA, that is doing his job. He should have lost his law license for his crap as well.

Until we STOP the BS of "shades of grey", or "definitions", and HAMMER ILLEGAL KILLERS, we all loose. The poachers steal FAR more from us than the cats and coyotes. I watched Bill CLinton, he did not have "sexual relations" with that woman, he got a hummer, WHO CARES, HE CHEATED EITHER WAY. Call it whatever you want, Poaching, illegal killing, "hack a rack", whatever, you want, it should be a FELONY and have mandatory minimums. Steal a car your getting charged, illegally kill an elk(most now cost more than a car), and its just an animal. We can save all the habitat in the world, cut out all the hunters SFW wants, and if the genetic lines are destroyed by dudes like this, WHAT GOOD DID IT DO?



"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"

 

[BrowningRage]

First off: If this family was completely innocent of the allegations, I am sure that it was an incredibly stressful situation as well. Good people should not be hounded by public officials and public servants. I make no assumption that those in public service are somehow morally superior.
Secondly: The life of a criminal is a stressful one. I work with Offenders on a regular basis. They have many of the behaviors and attitudes which were evident in statements made by the accused family in this article. I share some sentiment that it seems the family may have been "dogged" heavily, but let's face it, we want a justice system that "dogs" our criminals. It is what is meant to happen to criminals so as to punish for crimes committed and deter from future crime.


My opinion is this: I do think it is suspicious to have so many trophy-sized deer heads in one or even two homes. 3 men for 30 years straight probably would not be able to amass such a collection, even hunting the LE units here in Utah. (The article never said once that the individuals hunted outside of Utah). So yeah, I have to say that a collection that large may be suspicious when apparently hunting general season areas during legal hunting season dates. *Suspicion is not guilt* One of the hardest crimes to prove, I believe, is poaching. Unless you are caught red-handed, there are just too many ways to get away with this crime. The burden on the state to provide evidence of the crime is an incredible one, one that at times I'm surprised they are able to EVER do. I believe that some, many, and possibly all of this family's 'trophies' were harvested illegally. But there was never any way to prove it. As such, the prosecutor went after testimony alone, testimony that apparently changed with the seasons. He never had a strong case. And I think we all know enough about lawyers that we could say he was doing ANYTHING he could to get his convictions...

As a mental health professional, I do not appreciate the implications that the investigation led to suicide. In my extensive experience, extreme events trigger already-present issues. What does sadden me is that Jackie did not receive the professional help she needed. I will acknowledge that her situation was greatly exacerbated by the investigation, including isolation due to a no-contact order. Hers is a tragic story.

I think this family, poachers or not, have suffered more than they deserved to... I do not value animal life over human life.

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24