Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens arrested a man from Seminole, Texas on Friday July 8th, after he turned himself in for multiple violations including shooting and killing a pronghorn at night, and waste of a game animal. The arrest followed several weeks of investigating conducted by Lubbock district game wardens.
The incident occurred on or about the night of May 27th, Memorial Day weekend, approximately 4 miles West of Highway 214, on county road 120 in Yoakum County Texas. Sometime during the night, a 30 year old male was riding in a vehicle with several occupants hunting and shooting hogs. The arrest suspect was allegedly hunting with an AR-15 style rifle which included a thermal imaging weapons sight. The alleged gunman reported seeing group of hogs and began shooting at, and around the animals, when they came across the pronghorn. The suspect then shot the pronghorn striking the animal in the front right shoulder.
Three days later, on May 30th , the landowner found the dead pronghorn on his property and reported it to the Operation Game Thief hotline. Operation Game Thief is an anonymous crime reporting service used for reporting any game, fish, or water safety crime. Local wardens were dispatched and arrived on the scene shortly after. The wardens were able to collect evidence on the scene and obtained additional evidence through witness statements.
Lubbock district public information officer Aaron Sims explained that this a great example of cooperation between the public and quality investigative work. “In our area, Game Wardens have a tremendous amount of territory to cover. So, we cannot be everywhere all at once. This is why it is extremely important for the public, including farmers, ranchers, landowners, and hunters to be vigilant and report wildlife crimes. Once this violation was reported, the Game Wardens assigned to the case demonstrated how we are some of the best trained investigators in the State of Texas.”
Sims says that often times there is little evidence to go on in these types of cases and obtaining one single shell casing could make a difference in solving the case. “We have to turn over every rock to put the puzzle pieces together. Whether it’s combing a field for one single spent casing, comparing tire treads on tracks found at the scene, or interviewing witnesses Game Wardens spend a tremendous amount of time and effort to protect the resources of the State of Texas.”
The suspect is facing four separate charges including: two Class A misdemeanors (Killing game animal at night, Fail to retrieve game animal-pronghorn) and two class C misdemeanors (Killing pronghorn out of season, Killing pronghorn without a permit). The suspect is also being charged civil restitution for the animal. Property used in the commission of these offenses are also subject to forfeiture by a court of law.
The public is encouraged to anonymously report any wildlife related crimes via the Operation Game Thief hotline by calling 1-800-792-4263 (GAME). OGT offers rewards of up to $1,000.00 for information leading to the arrest and conviction for a wildlife crime.
(News release from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department in Lubbock)