July 25, 2014

From OutdoorNews.com

New York Cuffs & Collars – July 25th, 2014

Interstate spotlighting case
(Rensselaer County)

ECO Brian Canzeri responded to the town of Hoosick concerning a spotlighting complaint about a vehicle with a Vermont license plate. Canzeri forwarded the registered address to Vermont Game Warden Travis Buttle. Buttle found the subjects and coordinated with Canzeri to meet with them. One confessed to spotlighting a few dwellings. Both subjects signed a voluntary statement and were issued tickets for spotlighting within 500 feet of a dwelling.

Illegal 11-point buck
(Greene County)

ECO Sean Dewey received a call that a large-racked buck was on the top of a car in the town of Ashland and that the buck might have been shot on private, posted property. That night, Dewey interviewed the complainant by phone. Early the next morning, Dewey confronted the alleged shooter and the shooter admitted to shooting from a public roadway and hunter trespass.

Good timing
(Essex County)

ECO John Blades received information about a baited treestand at a seasonal residence in the town of Keene. Blades enlisted the help of Lt. Harold Barber and the two officers started visited the stand location. Within minutes of leaving the vehicle a shot rang out. The officers proceeded directly to where the shot came from and observed a subject still in his treestand and a dead deer within 50 feet of a large pile of apples. The subject was issued appearance tickets for hunting over bait and taking an illegal deer over bait.

So much for this friendship
(Hamilton County)

On Dec. 1 an individual called the Hamilton County dispatch to make a complaint. The complainant explained he had shot and killed a 10-point buck in the town of Benson, but that his hunting partner had become upset because he had wanted to shoot that particular deer. The complainant stated that his hunting partner dragged the deer to his van and tagged the deer with his own tag. ECO Scott Pierce and ECO Shane Manns went to the friend’s house and located the deer. The man he tagged the deer because his friend had already used his antlered deer tags for that year and then gave the officers a photo of the complainant with a 6-point buck dated earlier in the season. The original complainant eventually admitted to illegal activity and was charged with taking in excess of limit of deer, hunting without a valid license, failure to tag deer as required and failure to report deer as required.

Right spot, wrong vehicle
(Washington County)

ECO Thomas Wensley received a complaint of spotlighting within 500 feet of several residences in the town of White Creek. One of the complainants stated they had been coming by nearly every night and spotlighting their property and the property of several neighbors. Wensley patrolled to the complainant’s and shortly thereafter, a vehicle came through the area at a very slow rate of travel and began using a powerful spotlight in the meadows and woods. After several miles of watching their antics, the vehicle was stopped by the officer. Wensley found three males, a shotgun and a centerfire rifle, a large quantity of ammunition and alcoholic beverages, as well as a powerful spotlight. Tickets were issued to the three subjects for using an artificial light on lands inhabited by deer while in a motor vehicle, and possessing a firearm. The vehicle stopped on that night was not the vehicle originally described in the complaint so patrols were continued in the area.

Not how to shoot a doe
(Fulton County)

ECOs Stephen Shaw and Brian Toth responded to a complaint of an illegal taking of a deer in the town of Ephratah. Upon arrival, the officers interviewed multiple subjects. The subjects stated they had been hunting on an adjacent property and shot at two deer. It was said that the deer had run onto the complainant’s property, where it had expired but what had actually happened was four of individuals were out road-hunting in a pickup truck. Two antlerless deer had been spotted in a field and two individuals stepped out of the truck and shot at the deer from the roadway six times. Five of the six shell casings were found lying right on the pavement. They had also discharged well within 500 feet of the complainant’s residence. The complainant signed a supporting deposition and one dead antlerless deer was retrieved and photographed as evidence. Two individuals were each issued three misdemeanor charges for killing a wild deer, discharging from a public highway and discharging within 500 feet of a residence. If convicted, the two hunters could pay up to $4,000 in fines, spend up to one year in jail and lose their hunting license for up to five years.

Hunting over bait
(Hamilton County)

ECO Scott Pierce received information that an unknown subject took a large 9-point deer and was back out deer hunting again in the town of Wells. Pierce was able to track where a subject had been hunting recently. Pierce returned to this area and found the owner of the property, who said his friend who lived in the Albany area hunted the property. Pierce contacted the Albany resident, who admitted that he had taken a deer in the area. Pierce requested to be shown where the deer was taken. While following an old set of foot tracks, the path led through a powdered substance on the ground. Approximately 75 feet beyond this powder, a green liquid was seen sprayed on the ground and leading away. Pierce followed this liquid up to the top of a ridge. A deer gut pile was found and from the gut pile a visible drag mark could be seen. During the subsequent interview, the subject admitted to distributing Acorn Rage and other bait and then hunting over it. The man was charged with hunting deer over pre-established bait and the unlawful taking of a deer.

Illegal deer goes to good use
(Saratoga County)

While on patrol in the town of Clifton Park, ECOs Mark Klein and Brian Toth stopped to watch a buck running across a field. As the buck disappeared into the tree line, the officers heard a shot, decided to investigate and headed in the direction of the shot. They proceeded down the closest driveway and when they got to the end, they were flagged down by the property owner, who said that someone was hunting on his property without permission. The officers entered the woods and hadn’t gone far when they came across a hunter standing over the buck they had seen earlier. After obtaining a deposition from the property owner, the hunter was charged with trespassing and taking an illegal deer. The buck was seized and donated through the Venison Donation Program.

Cold-weather boat patrol
(Warren County)

While off duty checking his traps on Lake George, ECO George LaPoint noted that even though it was December and cold, there were a number of boats fishing on the lake. He contacted ECO Louis Gerrain and the two ECOs decided to conduct a cold-weather boat patrol for fisherman on the lower end of the lake from the north end of the Narrows south to Lake George Village. One summons was written for fishing without a license.

Two resident licenses?
(Clinton County)

ECO Dan Malone received a phone call complaint regarding a hunter trespassing on posted property in the town of Champlain during the late muzzleloader season. Malone responded to the scene and found the subject in question crossing the field to his truck, which was parked near the road. Malone interviewed the hunter and determined that the hunter was a Vermont resident, living and working in Vermont, but he somehow possessed a New York resident hunting license and muzzleloading stamp. The man told Malone that he had hunted in Vermont and had taken two deer in Vermont during the 2013 hunting season. He told officer Malone he had a Vermont resident hunting license. Malone then asked how he could possess two resident hunting licenses in different states. The hunter could not provide a reasonable answer. The hunter was issued tickets for trespass and for hunting without a valid New York state hunting license.

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