bdfrd24v's Link
Absolute shame what some people do in their free time. PA draws a handful of tags a year. One of the few things the PGC did was get the heard on the way back.
One would have been 3rd largest ever if harvested legally.
According to the Game Commission, the largest of the three bulls had a 10- by 9-point non-typical rack that initially was measured at 432 7/8 inches, based on standards set forth by the Boone & Crockett big-game scoring program. At that score, and if the bull had been legally harvested, it would rank as Pennsylvania's third-largest bull elk ever.
The other two illegally killed elk included a 5- by 7-point bull measuring 243 1/8 inches and a 4- by 5-point bull measuring 178 3/8 inches.
The Game Commission said the three elk were killed in Karthaus Township, Clearfield County, over two nights earlier this month.
The Game Commission has charged Frank Gordo Buchanan Jr., 25, and Jeffrey Scott Bickle, 46, both of Bellefonte; and Cody Allen Lyons, 20, of Milesburg.
If the men are convicted in the incident, the Game Commission said it will seek $11,500 in replacement costs for the illegally killed elk. Additionally, each man faces thousands of dollars in fines, with the maximum potential fine exceeding $13,000.
The Game Commission said Buchanan is accused of shooting all three bulls at night from a vehicle.
The investigation began, according to the Game Commission, after an illegally killed elk was discovered Sept. 9 by a resident nearby. The antlers had been removed, but most of the carcass was left behind.
According to the Game Commission, the subsequent investigation resulted in the three men being arrested on Sept. 15 in a pickup truck in an area where multiple elk could be heard bugling and a gunshot was heard by a wildlife conservation officer.
The Game Commission said that Buchanan admitted to killing an elk and led them to a home where officers found a sawed-off set of antlers that matched the skull plate of a poached bull.
A subsequent search in the area revealed two more dead elk. The Game Commission said Buchanan intended to sell the antlers on eBay.
Buchanan and Lyons are charged in the Sept. 8 and Sept. 15 incidents. Bickle is charged only in relation to the two bulls killed on Sept. 15. Each man faces multiple charges, the most severe being misdemeanor counts of unlawful killing of big game.
Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau said the elk were killed out of season.
"Elk are not yet in season. We have a very limited number of elk licenses that we allocate each year and this year that number is 108, that are awarded by lottery. These three gentlemen were not licensed hunters and took these three elk, based on our allegations, in a closed season. The method of their take, particularly pulling up in a vehicle, shooting while spotlighting, shooting from a vehicle, all of those actions are illegal as well," Lau said.
A preliminary hearing for the men is scheduled for Oct. 29 at the Clearfield County Jail.
It is in this sentence.........."These three gentlemen were not licensed hunters and took these three elk, based on our allegations, in a closed season."
Gentlemen????????????????????
Absolute shame.
I could rant for hours but I know you guys are the good guys.
423-200=223x223=49,729x2 = 99,458.
BUT what are the chances these low-lifes have that kind of money? If they have kids, the courts won't put them away for a lot of years and/or sell off their house and vehicles.
Bogey, you need to post credit for whatever publication originally ran that text. Right now there are some copyright issues if you don't. :-)
I do feel sorry for their wives and children (if any)who will suffer more than the men who have done this.
I don't think they should be looking at the antlers to determine the fines however. I think they should be looking at the waste of the animal more. Leaving the meat shows me that the family was not starving. Selling the antlers on ebay was probably just made up by the poacher to make himself look poor and in despirate need of money. I am sure he just needed to have that big rack.
This isn't the first time either. Fines no matter the amount don't deter people from doing similar things. The best way to make it the last is to use those aholes to set an example that will make anyone else who might think of this decide it's definitely not worth it. 10 years!!!!
I wish those 3 would come to mn and kill off all the elk so the dnr would quit wasting money on them.
get the penalties for crimes against people up and then jack up the poaching fines all you want
michael
I tend to agree with Pat that I don't want jail time. I don't want to pay for this douchebag to live in jail. I'm a fan of $$ and lots of community service. He can clean roads for 1000hrs in the dead of winter for all I care. Shovel out the elderly. Pick your poison.
I watched a heard of elk on my trail cam over water and to call them skitish was an understatement. They were afraid of their own shadows. I also hunted over different water and watched 3 muleys act the same way.
Jim in PA's Link
Ohio has gotten very aggresive on poachers in the last three years.
GUILTY PLEA IN TROPHY ELK-POACHING CASE Bellefonte man sentenced to up to 18 months in jail, more than $20,000 in fines and costs.
A Bellefonte man has been sentenced to spend up to 18 months in jail and pay more than $20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty Wednesday to poaching three bull elk, one of them among the largest on record in Pennsylvania. Left, to right, WCOs Dan Murray, Dave Stewart and Mark Gritzer, and Northcentral Region Law Enforcement Supervisor Rick Macklem pose with the antlers seized in the poaching investigation that has led to charges against three Centre County men. The 10- by 9-point rack at right initially was measured at 432 7/8 inches, based on standards set forth by the Boone & Crockett big-game scoring program. Only two bulls legally harvested in Pennsylvania have scored higher. The rack from the 5-by-7 bull is at left, and the sawed-off antlers from the 4-by-5 can be seen in front of it. Get Image
Frank Gordo Buchanan Jr., 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of unlawful taking of big game, and one count each of unlawful taking of game, unlawful use of a vehicle to take game, and unlawful use of an artificial light to take game. As part of the plea agreement accepted by Magisterial District Judge Jerome M. Nevling, of Kylertown, Buchanan will spend three to 18 months in the Clearfield County Jail and pay $9,550 in fines. Additionally, he is responsible for paying $11,500 in replacement costs for the poached elk, two of which are classified as trophy-class animals. Two other men charged in the incident waived their rights to preliminary hearings on charges, sending their cases to county court. If they are convicted of unlawful taking of big game, they, too, would be required to contribute to replacement costs. The charges against Buchanan stem from two nights of poaching in the same area of Karthaus Township, Clearfield County, in September. Buchanan had admitted to shooting all three elk. The largest of the three bulls had a 10- by 9-point non-typical rack that initially was measured at 432 7/8 inches, based on standards set forth by the Boone & Crockett big-game scoring program. At that score, and if the bull had been legally harvested, it would rank as Pennsylvania’s third-largest bull elk ever. The other two illegally killed bulls included a 5- by 7-point bull measuring 243 1/8 inches and a 4- by 5-point bull measuring 178 3/8 inches. Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough spoke to the severity of the charges filed in the case. Hough said he is pleased the case against Buchanan was speedily resolved, and acknowledged the penalty is justified. “Elk are an extremely important resource in Pennsylvania,” Hough said. “People travel hundreds of miles just to visit the elk range and be able to witness their majesty and the marvel of the bugling season, and those people support a lot of local businesses there. It’s no different with elk hunters. Some apply each year for a chance at an elk license, and those who are lucky enough to get one also create an economic boon for many northcentral Pennsylvania towns. In fact, the hunter who paid $41,000 for the license auctioned off by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation – a sum that will be used in its entirety to fund conservation efforts in Pennsylvania – was hunting the very record-book elk that was poached. “That, right there, shows you the value of Pennsylvania elk, and reinforces the logic that the penalties for killing one illegally need to be appropriately stiff,” he said. The first of the illegally killed bulls – the 4-by-5 – was discovered Sept. 9 by a resident nearby. The antlers had been removed, but most of the carcass was left to lay there. Wildlife Conservation Officer Mark Gritzer initiated an investigation and extracted a 7 mm bullet from the elk’s shoulder, according to court documents filed with Nevling. On Sept. 15, Gritzer, working night patrol, returned to the area where the bull was killed. At about 9 p.m., he parked in an area overlooking a reclaimed strip mine where multiple elk could be heard bugling. Within 15 minutes, he saw a pickup approach. Its occupants appeared to be spotlighting recreationally, but, suspiciously, the driver would turn off the headlights each time the pickup stopped, the documents indicate. At about 9:45 p.m., a single gunshot erupted from the area of the pickup. Gritzer activated the emergency lights on his patrol vehicle, and drove to the location where the pickup was sitting parked with its headlights off. When Gritzer’s backup, WCO Dave Stewart, arrived at the scene, he found a 7 mm rifle lying on the ground nearby. Not only was the rifle consistent with the caliber used to kill the 4-by-5 bull on Sept. 9, a handsaw caked with elk hair and tissue also was found in the pickup, according to court documents. Buchanan admitted to shooting at a large bull elk, and two other men in the vehicle – Jeffrey Scott Bickle, 46, of Bellefonte, and Cody Allen Lyons, 20, of Milesburg – were arrested alongside Buchanan. Because a fog had moved in, the officers decided to wait to try to find the elk. Instead, they accompanied Buchanan, Lyons and Bickle to the state police barracks in Woodland for fingerprinting, at which time Buchanan admitted to killing 4-by-5 bull on Sept. 9, court documents state. At 2 a.m., he led Gritzer and Stewart to a trailer home in Milesburg, where he retrieved a sawed-off set of antlers that perfectly matched the skull plate on the poached bull, according to the documents. At 7:30 a.m., Gritzer and Stewart returned to the arrest scene to search for the larger bull at which Buchanan admitting shooting, the documents state. They quickly found the 10-by-9, which had been shot in the neck with a 7 mm. And within sight, about 350 yards away, the 5-by-7 lay dead. Further investigation indicated the men had killed the 5-by-7 at about 8:15 that night and left the area to go to the town of Snow Shoe and get a chainsaw to remove the antlers, according to the documents. Gritzer arrived after they had left, and when they returned, they encountered the 10-by-9, the documents state. Buchanan, at that time, admitted to killing the third bull, as well, and told the officers he had intended to sell the antlers on eBay, court documents state. Lyons is charged in the Sept. 8 and Sept. 15 incidents. Bickle is charged only in relation to the two bulls killed on Sept. 15. Lyons faces three counts each of unlawful taking of big game; unlawful use of a vehicle to take game; unlawful presence of a loaded firearm in a vehicle; and unlawful use of artificial light to take game ; as well as one count of unlawful taking of game. Bickle faces two counts each of unlawful taking of big game; unlawful use of a vehicle to take game; unlawful presence of a loaded firearm in a vehicle; and unlawful use of artificial light to take game; as well as one count of vehicle operation to avoid identification. The men are to appear Nov. 19 in Clearfield County court for their formal arraignment on charges.
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I'm happy that he also finally took ownership of this crime and didn't cost the taxpayers any more with a trial.
Hopefully he learns from this, and others learn from this before they do something so asinine.
I have been heading up for a few to photograph them the last 3 years. I seen and photographed so big ones but thats huge.
Those guys could never handle a giant fine and if they could afford that it wouldn't mean nearly as much to them as the lower fine plus some jail time plus a few thousand hours of community service.
