https://abc6onyourside.com/new...ia-county-10-21-2021



8 indicted for allegedly skimming over 700 pounds of meat from hunters in Gallia County

by WSYX Staff Thursday, October 21st 2021



COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Eight people were indicted on over 90 criminal counts last week for an alleged illegal poaching operation in Gallia County, the Ohio Attorney General's Office says.

According to Attorney General Dave Yost, the group operated as A&E Deer Processing.

Authorities say the group poached 30 Ohio white-tailed deer and skimmed more than 700 pounds of meat from deer that hunters paid to have processed by the business.

A&E Deer Processing then allegedly sold the stolen meat for a profit.


“Deer hunting is a deep-rooted tradition in Ohio, with generations having been taught the values of conservation, responsibility and discipline,” Yost said. “This level of corruption violates those tenets, and protecting and preserving this part of our heritage are important to all sportsmen and -women.”

A grand jury indicted the group on the following charges on Oct. 14, 2021:

Aaron L. Jones, 32, of Thurman:

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), tampering with records (F3), theft (F5), receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), money laundering (F3), illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), over bag limit of antlered deer taken in a season (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (two counts, M3), jacklighting (M3)
Brittney E. Marcum, 31, of Thurman:

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
Randy L. Jones Jr., 64, of Thurman:

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), receiving stolen property – firearm (F4), over bag limits of antlered deer taken in a season (M3), attached antlerless game check confirmation number to antlered deer (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
Charlotte F. Jones, 63, of Thurman:

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), receiving stolen property – firearm (F4), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
James E. Copley, 58, of Thurman:

engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), tampering with records (F3), theft (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance (F5), aiding a wildlife offender: accepting deer without a game check (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (three counts, M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (M3)
Justin M. Wells, 36, of Thurman:

theft (F5), failure to game check a deer (five counts, M3), over bag limit of deer taken in a season (M3), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), jacklighting (M3)
William C. Gilbert, 27, of Thurman:

tampering with records (F3), grand theft (F4), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), jacklighting (M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (two counts, M3), failure to game check a deer (M3), jacklighting (M3), failure to game check a deer (M3)
Justin F. Butterfield, 23, of Brice:

theft (F5), failure to game check a deer (M3)

Many decades ago I was working a evening shift.

I received a call about a vehicle struck on a back road.

Middle of January I knew the road wasn't plowed as it is used as a snowmobile trail in the winter.

I arrived found the vehicle 3 people and a deer carcass.

I put in a call for the local warden he arrived within a half an hour after being called out from home.

Further investigation found 4 more deer carcasses.

The warden took over the investigation as the people were from a different county.

Turned out one of the people was the owner of a bar restaurant and had been killing deer and selling the meat through his business.

When they search the business I think they came up with enough meat for 15 deer.

Don't remember or if I heard the out come of a court case.

https://www.wfmj.com/story/476...from-hunters-in-ohio

Fourteen fined in scheme to steal venison from hunters in Ohio

The stolen venison was stockpiled and laundered into summer sausage that was sold for profit.

Friday, November 4th 2022, 8:38 AM EDT
Updated: 16 hrs 50 mins ago
By Mike Gauntner

Fourteen people have been ordered to pay fines and restitution of more than $70 thousand in connection with deer poaching scheme in Ohio that involved stealing meat from hunters.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says convictions stem from an investigation into A&E Deer Processing of Gallia County that revealed that the owners and operators falsely game checked deer, created false deer harvest records, falsified deer tags, exceeded deer hunting limits, and stole venison from customers who brought in deer for processing.

Falsified records allowed the deer processors to take and have in their possession more deer than they were lawfully allowed.

The stolen venison was stockpiled and laundered into summer sausage that was sold for profit.

Over the course of two hunting seasons, investigators say they documented more than 2,000 pounds of venison that were either stolen from their 280 customers or illegally taken by means such as jacklighting, taking deer out of season, and falsifying records.

Investigators seized more than 1,000 items including venison and venison processing equipment, deer harvest records, deer mounts and antlers, and hunting implements.

A stolen rifle, illegally possessed firearm suppressors, and a moonshine still were also discovered during the searches.


Fourteen people on four counties in Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged with 122 counts including charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, grand theft, falsification, tampering with records, possession of untagged deer parts, hunting with an illegal implement, and complicity to wildlife sales.

The group also collectively received a hunting license revocation totaling 63 years and paid more than $6,700 in court costs.

The maximum restitution to one person was $20,000. A second individual received restitution of $13,000.

The investigation culminated in February 2020 with the execution of five search warrants in Gallia County, Ohio. Wildlife officers and investigators conducted 22 interviews in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania to verify the violations.

Pretty sad. They will probably keep poaching despite efforts to prosecute.

quote:

The stolen venison was stockpiled and laundered into summer sausage that was sold for profit.

Heck I hope they were smart enough to make money on it.