Seven people, all under 21, accused of poaching
MEDFORD, Ore. – State police say they have broken up a ring of young poachers who shot deer and other animals at night in Southern Oregon and then shot videotape of their exploits.
Seven people were arrested, five adults aged 18 to 20 and two juveniles, police said. The adults were from Eagle Point and White City.
“After 15 years of fish and wildlife cases, this is probably the biggest big-game case I’ve ever worked,” said OSP investigator Jim Collom of the Fish and Wildlife Division.
Seven January search warrants yielded more than a dozen guns, at least 12 sets of deer antlers, pictures, videos, ammunition and a bag containing the beards of 35 wild turkeys, court papers show.
A police affidavit describes one video of two suspects standing by a trophy deer. Another video, shot at night, shows a suspect stabbing a deer that already had been shot, the affidavit said.
A third shows a suspect recounting an episode in which a state trooper passed by the poachers while they were transporting “a big old 4-point buck in our pickup” but didn’t stop them, the affidavit said.
The largest number of charges were filed against Stephen B. Price, 20, of Eagle Point. Among them were animal abuse, theft of publicly owned black-tail deer and a variety of hunting violations such as waste of wildlife, hunting from a motor vehicle, and hunting with an artificial light.
State troopers said more charges are expected.
Police said they received a series of poaching complaints around Eagle Point in the fall and heard reports that one supect bragged about having more than a dozen deer antlers in a shed.
A search revealed no antlers in the shed, but it did turn up blood and pieces of meat on the floor, court papers said. The next day, the papers said, police returned to the property and found weaponry, videos and turkey beards in an attic crawl space.
The search also turned up wrapped packages of deer meat in the freezer, the affidavit said, although police said that other meat in the poaching case was left to rot.