|
 |
|
||||||||
| The Sportsman's Source for News and Information about Idaho Hunting and Fishing | ||||||||||
|
Repeat poacher sentenced 7/28/2008 Within a month of having his hunting privileges reinstated following a previous poaching conviction, a Boise County man poached again. And this time, it really cost him. Gregory Wayne Powell, 44 of Horseshoe Bend was recently sentenced in Idaho City on felony elk poaching charges stemming from a Dec. 2007 poaching incident. Powell was initially charged with unlawful possession and waste of two cow elk, trespassing, and using the elk tag of another. In an agreement with Boise County Deputy Prosecutor Richard Linville, Powell stipulated to the misdemeanor charges and then pled guilty to a Idaho Department of Fish and Game felony charge of possession of two or more big game animals within a twelve month period. IDFG conservation officer Rob Brazie put the case together. In Dec. 2007, Powell trespassed onto private ground, shooting and killing two cow elk. He left both animals where they fell, returning under the cover of darkness to partially field dress both animals. Using a 4-wheeler, Powell dragged the animals to a waiting horse trailer, then loaded and transported the carcasses to his residence. Both animals were left in the trailer until mid-afternoon the following day, by which time the meat had spoiled, making it unfit for human consumption. Powell placed a friend’s elk tag on one of the illegal animals. When initially contacted, Powell denied any wrongdoing, concocting the story that he and the friend killed the elk somewhere else. DNA evidence sealed the case against Powell. During sentencing, Deputy Prosecutor David Hargrove asked officer Brazie to provide testimony regarding Powell’s earlier poaching conviction, which the officer described as eerily similar to the current case. In 2004, Powell killed a five-point bull elk several weeks prior to the season opener. The elk was left on the hill, and Powell later snuck the animal out of the area under cover of darkness. Left lying in a horse trailer for most of the following day, the unskinned elk spoiled. When officers arrived to investigate, Powell convinced a friend to claim the elk as his own. Powell was later charged with possession of a closed season elk, waste of an elk and using the elk tag of another. His hunting license was suspended for three years. In Boise County court, Fourth Judicial Magistrate Judge Kathryn Stickland handed down a stiff sentence for the 2007 poaching incident. Powell’s punishment included 10 days of jail time (with another 120 days to be served at the probation officer’s discretion), five years of unsupervised probation, a 10-year hunting license revocation, restitution to the state for two elk ($1,500), fines totaling $600, unspecified court costs and reimbursement for DNA tests totaling $4,597.50. Should Powell be convicted of another crime during his probationary period, he would serve a minimum sentence of one year in jail for the elk poaching and up to three years at the court’s discretion. |
|
| © 2005 - 2010 Wild Idaho News LLC | Home | Subscribe | Store | Contact | Press Releases | About | Links | Shopping Cart | Designed by Peak Digital Productions |