Two men sentenced for deer poaching
Two 21-year-old Kalispell men were recently sentenced in Flathead County Justice court for poaching 10 white-tailed deer in the Farm-to-Market Road area in December 2013.
Levi Anderson pleaded guilty and was fined $4,350, ordered to pay $600 in restitution and lost his privileges to hunt, fish and trap in Montana and 44 states in the Interstate Wildlife Violators Compact for 10 years.
Hadyn Johnson pleaded guilty and was fined $2,100, ordered to pay $2,100 in restitution and lost his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for 20 years in Montana and all states in the compact.
According to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens, the deer were shot at night after the general season had ended and were left to waste.
The case broke on Dec. 20, 2013, when game wardens Wes Oedekoven and Chris Crane made an investigative stop around 10:30 p.m. after hearing shots fired from a vehicle driven by Anderson and Johnson in the area where the deer had been poached.
Johnson had an active felony arrest warrant for $50,000 from Oregon. He was arrested and turned over to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
Anderson was cooperative and provided the wardens with a detailed account of their illegal activities. He took wardens back to the sites where one deer was shot that night and nine others were shot previously.
Warden Captain Lee Anderson praised Oedekoven and Crane for their hard work on this case, noting that the reason this case came to fruition was the dedication of the two game wardens. They had just wrapped up the long general hunting season and still took the initiative to go out on a cold, dark night in December, just before Christmas, to catch these individuals.
“It is disturbing that a culture still exists that engages in this type of destructive behavior on Montana’s wildlife,” Anderson said. “These animals were taken from the people of Montana and left to waste. “
Unfortunately, poaching activity has continued this past summer and fall. FWP officials currently are seeking information on illegal activity in the Farm-to-Market, Kila, Somers and Marion areas.
“We as a community need to come together and work with one another to keep this from continuing to happen; and if it does, take the steps necessary to get the information to the local wardens so they can investigate and solve these cases,” Crane said.
Anyone with information on poaching is asked to call 1-800-TIP-MONT or the local sheriff office or game wardens Wes Oedekoven at 270-4220 or Chris Crane at 249-6231.