Teen poachers killed 30 deer

By Monica Pryts
Herald Staff Writer

MERCER, VENANGO COUNTIES February 02, 2008 09:57 pm

— Four teenagers, including a Mercer County boy, have been prosecuted for a deer poaching spree in French Creek Township and Venango County that one wildlife officer called one of the most disturbing incidents he’s seen.
“It was almost like a video game for them. They did it because they were bored,” said Clint Deniker, a wildlife conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
The four, who were juveniles at the time of their offenses, were fined for their gross violations of the state’s Game and Wildlife Code, which was called a case of “kill for thrill,” according to a press release issued Friday by the commission.
“There is no telling how many deer were killed or wounded,” Deniker said, adding he can account for at least 30.
The offenders are a boy and girl from Utica, both 17, a 16-year-old Cochranton boy and a 17-year-old Carlton boy.
Deniker said Saturday the commission was first made aware of the poaching in October 2005 from anonymous tips, many from people who heard gunshots at night or found dead deer.
“They were finding dead deer that had been shot,” he said.
The teens would look for deer with a spotlight or their vehicle headlights. Upon finding deer in a field, all four would exit the vehicle and shoot at the deer with .22-caliber rifles. There were no attempts to retrieve the deer, Deniker said.
“They didn’t care if they killed or wounded them. They had absolutely no remorse at the time,” he said.
Any deer they shot on a farm would be dragged off the field, which they considered to be a favor to the property owner, Deniker said.
The break in the case came Oct. 30, 2005, when Deniker and Neal Britton and James McCurdy, deputy wildlife conservation officers, were working their routine night patrol in Canal Township, Venango County.
One of the teenagers’ vehicles was stopped for spotlighting at 2 a.m. When Deniker approached the vehicle, he noticed the driver’s face was splattered with blood and there was a bloody knife on the floor.
An investigation revealed that the blood came from the driver cutting the throat on a deer the four had wounded. The deer was then dragged into the woods, Deniker said.
Deniker and other wildlife officers were able to recover multiple dead deer they knew the teens had shot with help from the ballistics unit of the Pennsylvania State Police crime lab in Erie.
The four teens were charged with five counts of unlawful use of lights while hunting, four counts of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife and one count each of loaded firearms in vehicles and restrictions on recreational spotlighting.
The Carlton and Cochranton boys pleaded guilty last October at a hearing with Venango County District Judge David Fish, Pleasantville. The Cochranton boy was fined $4,800 and the Carlton boy was fined $4,000.
The Utica teens were found guilty Dec. 31 at a hearing with Fish. The boy was fined $4,800 and the girl was fined $4,000. All four will be responsible for court costs and face revocation of their hunting and furtaking privileges for up to 12 years.