Colorado Parks and Wildlife is releasing details about the two-year, multi-state investigation that solved the case of a large, trophy-quality mule deer poached in November of 2014. It began with an anonymous tip to Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and ended in early July with the sentencing of a Colorado outfitter. His three out-of-state employees were all sentenced earlier this year for their role in the wildlife crime.
Local wildlife officers say the trophy sized mule deer could be one of the largest bucks taken in the area in the past few years. CPW will use the impressive antlers for educational purposes and as an example to anyone that may violate wildlife laws that poaching is considered a serious offense by the agency.
The defendants conspired to kill the buck at a ranch south of Craig toward the end of the third rifle season two years ago. One of the men used another’s license after he killed the animal, an illegal act known as ‘party hunting.’
“It was definitely one of the largest mule deer bucks I’ve ever seen,” said District Wildlife Manager Evan Jones of Craig. “It’s one that anyone would be lucky to see in his or her lifetime, not to mention the chance to actually harvest a deer this size. It is a real shame that a licensed, ethical hunter was cheated out of the opportunity by these individuals.”
Applied in this case, illegally killing and possessing a trophy-class mule deer with an inside antler spread of at least 22 inches can add $10,000 in additional penalties over the standard fines, known as the ‘Samson Law’ in Colorado.
Sentenced in Moffat County Court in early July after pleading guilty to felony possession of a forged instrument, outfitter Danny Jeffcoat, 60, of Hamilton, Colo., must serve a 12-month deferred judgment and sentence, including unsupervised probation. He must pay $408.50 in court surcharges and donate $10,000 to Operation Game Thief – Colorado’s tip line for wildlife violations.
In February, John Summerville, 65, of Carrollton, Miss., pleaded guilty in Moffat County Court to felony possession of a forged instrument and must serve a 12-month deferred judgement and sentence for the charge. He also pleaded guilty to hunting without a license and aggravated illegal possession of wildlife – the Samson violation – and must pay a total of over $12,000 in fines.
Also in February, his son Jon Summerville, 36, of Batesville, Miss., pleaded guilty in Moffat County Court to felony possession of a forged instrument with a 12-month deferred judgement and sentence. In addition, he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of wildlife and hunting without a license and must pay over $2,000 in fines.
The elder Summerville voluntarily shouldered the larger portion of the fine for aggravated illegal possession of wildlife, even though his son killed the animal.
By a court ordered mandate, both Summervilles and Jeffcoat are prohibited from hunting for one year.
In November of 2015, CPW officers cited Kirk Anderson, 48, of St. Peters, Mo., for his role in the scheme. In cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation, he was served a citation in his home state for the unlawful transfer of a hunting license. He paid $220 in fines for his involvement in the crime.
In addition to the court ordered ban on hunting for the Summervilles and Jeffcoat, all four men face the possible further suspension of their hunting and fishing privileges in Colorado and 43 Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact states, pending a review of the case by a CPW Hearings Officer.
The status of Jeffcoat’s outfitting business is uncertain and pending a review by Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies.
After the tip to the MDWFP, wildlife officers began the extensive investigation into the activities of the four men, uncovering that Anderson left behind his unfilled deer license at the ranch in Hamilton, owned by Jeffcoat, where Jon Summerville used it to tag the buck.
The investigation revealed that Summerville’s father not only assisted his son, he encouraged the illegal taking of the trophy class buck with the unlawfully obtained license.
Jeffcoat then forged a transportation document in Anderson’s name because the Missouri man’s name was on the license. The transportation document allowed the Summervilles to take the deer to Mississippi for taxidermy purposes.
“It was a case of bad judgement on many levels,” said Jones. “Now they are paying a steep price for what they did.”
Jones noted the significant efforts of fellow District Wildlife Manager Johnathan Lambert of Craig who assisted throughout the two-year investigation.
Both Colorado wildlife officers recognized the cooperation and efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Brown of the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
“It was very much a cooperative effort involving all of these agencies working together to help serve search warrants, conduct interviews, gather evidence, serve a citation and help put this case together,” said Jones. “The public should know that CPW will pursue poachers in all cases, but large investigations like this take teamwork and cooperation, and we are grateful to everyone that helped.”
“This case is an excellent example of the cooperative investigative efforts between the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the 14th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and each agency’s strong commitment to investigate and network in the prosecution of those who violate state and federal wildlife laws by holding those individuals accountable for their actions,” said Luis Santiago, Special Agent-in-Charge, Southeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The pleas and sentencing of these defendants is a success in our collective efforts in the conservation of wildlife and plants in and outside of the United States.”
As in this case and other recent high-profile poaching cases, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers say they are determined to find wildlife violators and bring them to justice. They stress that the illegal take of the state’s wildlife not only denies opportunity from legal hunters that follow the rules, it is stealing from the citizens of Colorado.
“It is satisfying to see a case like this through because it ultimately helps protect one of the state’s most valuable natural resource, but we could not have done it alone,” said Lambert.
To provide information about a wildlife violation anonymously, the public can contact Operation Game Thief at 877-265-6648, or 877 COLO-OGT. Rewards are available if the information leads to an arrest or citation.
For more information about Operation Game Thief, visit cpw.state.co.us/aboutus/Pages/OGT.aspx
CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 42 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW’s work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.