Posted on 06/14/2016 7:50:25 AM PDT by w1n1
A lifetime hunting ban, jail time and thousands of dollars in penalties are the price a Nampa man must pay for last year’s poaching of a trophy bighorn sheep along Idaho’s Main Salmon River.
Appearing in Idaho County Court on June 6, Paul Cortez (53) of Nampa stood silent as District Court Judge Gregory FitzMaurice handed down the poaching sentence. In addition to a lifetime hunting license revocation, Cortez received 30 days in jail, a $10,000 civil penalty, fines/court costs totaling $753 and four years of probation.
On November 6, 2015 while on routine jet boat patrol along the famous river, Fish and Game conservation officers Roy Kinner, Craig Mickelson, Dennis Brandt and Brian Perkes contacted Cortez at his hunting camp. Cortez’s hands and forearms were bloody, and after a brief conversation, Cortez admitted to shooting the bighorn ram from his camp as the animal came to the river for water. He then field dressed and stashed the carcass among rocks above the river. The poaching location is in Hunt Unit 19, where the bighorn sheep season closed onOctober 13.
Perkes then cited Cortez for unlawfully killing a trophy big game animal, possession of an illegally taken bighorn sheep, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. An April plea agreement with Idaho County Prosecutors allowed Cortez to plead guilty to one felony count of unlawfully killing a trophy big game animal, which included 15 days in jail. The second felony count and other charges were dropped as part of the plea deal. Read the rest of the story here.
Looks like he’ll have to hunt in a different state once he gets off probation.
I guess that’ll teach him
Good.
Dunno the details, but if he has a case, of course the state district court would not be the last word if he wanted to take it to the Idaho supreme court. Also he could hunt in another state.
It was the gun’s fault.
This is why fish & game officers are better than the police. They are either already at the scene of a crime or there shortly thereafter.
Serves him right; however, not having a hunting license didn’t seem to stop him the last time.
One of my former in-laws was caught hunting on a State game preserve many years ago and they confiscated his rifles and his truck. He was also fined and placed on probation for a year.
He got his truck back a month or so later and I believe they returned his rifles after his probation was up.
If he cannot follow the rules the rest of us have to follow, he should be banned.
A druggie out hunting.
This guy deserves all he got and more...and I hope he's on a law enforcement watch list forever.
Leni
It’d be more fitting if instead of no hunting, he just had to reverse roles with the sheep and be the prey for a while.
He'll be back hunting illegally within 6 months. Maybe he'll get jail time next time.
Drugs, guns and poaching. Good times. :-)
They are, after all, the Kings deer.
...er, sheep.
He may hunt again, but he will not be using a firearm. Felony conviction means no firearms in his future. If the wardens want him, they will know about the felony conviction and will bust him on that.
States have reciprocity for bans on hunting.
I think what is lost in these game poacher stories, is that the sentence handed down for their crime is often more severe than a crime committed by and DWI driver that has a head on collision with a family of four. This type of crime often draws a $500 fine and license suspension for 30 days. Seems like to often, we put our priorities on the wrong crimes. Just my thoughts.
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