As they say down in my neck of the woods…
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
A Shepherd, Montana, man will no longer be able to hunt for a whopping 16 years, and is forced to pay $6,000 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to 16 state and federal charges of poaching mule deer, and leaving some parts behind at a federal recreation area, according to KTVQ.
The culprit was 19-year-old Brayden Reed, who pleaded guilty in Yellowstone County Justice Court to the criminal offenses, which included four counts of unlawful possession of deer, two counts of wasting game, three counts of hunting during a closed season, two counts of unlawful use of equipment, two counts of hunting without a license, and one count of killing more than a limit of deer.
On top of that, he also plead guilty to the crimes of littering and resource damage in federal court.
In Montana state court, he was fined $4,405 and ordered to pay the state $2,000 in restitution, along with the penalty of not being able to hunt in Montana for 16 years. He also has to pay $400 in federal charges, and the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks game warden Connor Langel, who was the lead investigator, also confiscated the 19-year-old’s rifle he used to kill the deer.
As Montana has reciprocal agreements in a number of states, he won’t be able to legally hunt in most states in the country.
Reed was convicted for spotlighting and shooting two mule deer bucks back on October 2, and taking them to the federal Bureau of Land Management’s Ah-Nei Recreation Area, where he removed antlers and backstraps, and left the other parts of the deer behind.
Not to mention, a tree was cut down and burned that same evening, and a number of beverage cans were scattered throughout the recreation area. The damage was investigated by Bureau of Land Management ranger Jeff Herriford.
He was also convicted of spotlighting and shooting a third deer on private property, which he was not allowed on back on October 8th. He took the carcass to the Ah-Nei Recreation Area, where he also removed backstraps, leaving the rest behind.
Reed did not have a Montana deer license while killing the deer, which happened before deer season began on October 23rd.
Langel also found a fourth deer later that Reed had killed illegally as well.
What an idiot.
