http://www.oregonlive.com/paci...an_brazenly_gut.html


Link has a photo of one of the rams.



I-84 driver spots man in brazen killing of bighorn sheep beside freeway, calls police

Aimee Green | The Oregonian/OregonLive



on April 04, 2016 at 1:09 PM, updated April 04, 2016 at 5:06 PM


A driver who spotted a man shortly after he apparently killed a bighorn sheep along Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge on Sunday called police, leading to the arrests of two men.

Oregon State Police responded to find the remains of two bighorn sheep, which had been beheaded. Police suspect one of the men tracked down and shot the sheep, with the assistance of his companion.

Oregon's roughly 5,000 bighorn sheep are protected by law. Last year, 21,805 hunters entered a lottery for 96 coveted tags, each allowing them to kill one of the animals.

"It's an outrage that someone would poach a bighorn sheep, when hunters can wait their whole life and still never get the opportunity to hunt this iconic species," said Jeremy Thompson, an Oregon Fish & Wildlife biologist, in a news release Monday. "This herd is also a popular viewing attraction for people driving along I-84 and has been there since 1993."

State police received a call about 9:45 a.m. about a man bending over a dead big-game animal next to I-84 at milepost 119, east of Biggs Junction in Gilliam County.

Troopers responded and found Justin M. Samora, 32, of Utah. They questioned then arrested him on a charge of aiding in a game violation. While troopers were talking to Samora, some passing drivers stopped to report seeing a man hiding in the brush to the west.

That's when troopers discovered the two severed sheep heads nearby. Lt. Bill Fugate said the animals weren't gutted -- and they might have been killed in order to mount their heads on a wall as trophies.

"It appears they left the bodies behind," Fugate said. "They took only the heads."

Troopers began scouring the region for the unidentified, second man.

About six hours later, at about 4 p.m., authorities found Cody J. Plagmann of Albany hiding along railroad tracks about two miles away. Plagmann, 37, was arrested and charged with taking or possessing a bighorn sheep, wasting of a game animal and hunting on another's cultivated or enclosed land.

Anyone who witnessed the killings or has information about them is asked to call state police in The Dalles at 541-296-9646.

-- Aimee Green

agreen@oregonian.com

503-294-5119

They can't get enough time in prison for this.

Glad they were caught.

Unbelievable....
What a couple of freakin idiots. This is a slap in the face to everyone who applies and is unsuccessful in the drawings year after year.
They should be judged and punished by a jury of their peers and I mean people who hunt and buy real licenses and foot the bill for managing these animals.

They should be banned from hunting ANYTHING for life.

They should not be able to own a firearm of any kind for life.

They should be made an example of what stupidity like this can result in.

Shameful !

We don't have any sheep like that in the NY part of I-84 .Would be a nice sight !

" Off with their heads!"

Community service in the 10s of 1000s of hours....and a fat fine.

How this is not self-evident to every judge who would preside over this is beyond me.

quote:

Originally posted by Ole Miss Guy:
" Off with their heads!"

I'm hoping the judge will give them Life Without Parole for this, and add twenty years for a RICO violation. And, another twenty for use of a firearm in commission of a felony.

That should just about cover it...

The great news in all of this is they were reported by interested citizens! Many would not have bothered. See something, say something applies to poachers also. Think of it this way, game terrorists!

I came by this as it was going down. It's a narrow strip of land with the Colombia river on one side and 500 ft cliffs on the other. Everyone who travels this corridor knows the sheep are there and we see them often. Our Game wardens are part of the Oregon State Police and just use trucks instead of cars. There were 7 or 8 units enroute at over 100mph from both directions and a State Police Cessna 180 doing tight turns overhead. One pic i saw later showed a full curl ram with the head cut off short right at the neck. These guy's had to have been a little short on brain cell's. As Ivan Carter say's " It's going to be a bad couple of hours to be a poacher." I'm sure our Oregon Hunters Assn will put pressure on the local District Attorney to not cut a deal, and make sure they do jail time. I have applied for an Oregon once in a lifetime sheep tag for over 40yrs, no points, straight up draw. Congrats to our OSP for a job well done that day.