WFF Enforcement Helps Gain Guilty Pleas in Night Hunting Case

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Countless hours of investigation involving multiple agencies earlier this year culminated in guilty pleas from a flagrant violator of numerous Alabama wildlife laws.

The investigation started with a night hunting complaint to Sgt. Matt Moran, a Conservation Enforcement Officer with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division. A hunter told Moran he was spotlighted as he was coming out of the woods. Moran received more information about the same individual and relayed the information to his supervisor, Lt. Greg Elrod.

“We had been receiving calls in Jackson and DeKalb counties about hearing a gunshot at night,” Elrod said. “We would work it and come up with nothing. We were working in conjunction with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). They gave us information that kind of pieced together a lot of our complaints and the areas where they were coming from.

“What his M.O. (modus operandi) was, he would shoot a deer and leave immediately. He would come back six, eight, 10 hours later and retrieve it in a different vehicle. His wife or friend would drop him off. This guy was night hunting and road hunting every day.”

Elrod said they received information that the perpetrator even shot two bucks that were fighting on his lunch break.

“He was killing deer everywhere without permission,” Elrod said. “We got information that he killed 10-12 bucks last season, nine illegally. We think he had been doing it for a couple of years and is responsible for a lot of the complaints we had been receiving.”

“He would start at his house and night hunt around the county,” Elrod said.

The investigation intensified when WFF asked for assistance from the sheriffs’ departments in Jackson and DeKalb counties, as well as USFWS officers. Moran and Elrod concentrated on areas where the suspect might be night hunting. 

“Bradley Simpson, one of our officers from DeKalb County, called and said he was following a vehicle that was driving down the road shining fields,” Elrod said. “The vehicle was coming in my direction. I met a white Toyota Camry running about 80. Officer Simpson caught up to him and started the pursuit. Officer Thomas Bobo fell in behind him, and they pursued the vehicle until he finally stopped.”

“Our officer observed the perpetrator throw weapons from the vehicle during the pursuit,” Elrod said. “With the perpetrator in custody, we began looking for the firearms. We would get out and walk the roads. We were about to give up when I found a rifle cartridge lying in the center lane of the road around 5:00 a.m. It was a .450 cartridge, which is what this guy used. I called everybody and told them I had just found a .450 cartridge.”

After that initial discovery, one officer found a rifle bolt and another officer found the butt stock of a rifle.

“We couldn’t find the rest of the weapons, but a landowner called the sheriff’s department and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got what y’all were looking for last night,’” Elrod said. “I’ve got these weapons. We got out there, and he had recovered one full long gun and the rest of the other rifle. The serial numbers matched the bolt and the gun.”

WFF was able to obtain a search warrant.

“After executing the search warrant, we found narcotics and ammunition at the residence. He was a convicted felon and not allowed to have guns,” Elrod said. “The task force arrested him on narcotics and firearms-related charges, and the judge revoked his bond.”

After further investigation, the multiple-agency task force discovered that the Toyota Tundra owned by the perpetrator was parked at another residence. The truck was impounded and a warrant was obtained to search the vehicle.

“We recovered seven additional firearms, 15 deer racks and ammunition,” Elrod said. “Several of those deer were freshly harvested. This turned into a very large investigation.”  

Working with Jackson County Assistant District Attorney Krystina Jackson and DA Jason Pierce, prosecutors were able to obtain guilty pleas for several offenses, including hunting at night, hunting without landowner permission, and felony eluding. 

“The Jackson County DA’s office was very helpful, and Krystina went out of her way to help with our conservation issues,” Elrod said. “I actually nominated Krystina for the AWF (Alabama Wildlife Federation) Governor’s Conservation Achievement Award for judicial, and she won it. She worked with us day and night on these search warrants. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department also assisted with the search warrants. This would have not been possible without their assistance.”

Elrod said the community in northeast Alabama also stepped up and reached out with information and thanked WFF officers for catching the perpetrator. 

“I supervise a very good group of officers in four counties,” he said. “I tell everybody what we have, and everybody just shows up. Had it not been for Officer Simpson, we wouldn’t have been able to catch the guy. He was instrumental in the arrest.”

Michael Weathers, WFF’s Chief of Enforcement, applauded the cooperation among agencies to be able to catch the perpetrator.

“Operations like this are excellent examples of the partnerships that have formed between state, local and federal law enforcement officers,” Weathers said. “When we have particularly egregious natural resources violations like those that occurred in this case, multiple agencies across all levels of law enforcement coming together to prosecute resource violators is beneficial to all involved.

“It serves to remind everyone about the importance of protecting the natural resource wealth jointly owned by all Alabamians.”

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