A Nampa man has been arrested on charges of killing a bighorn sheep during a closed season.

Jake B. Fouts, 20, of Nampa, has been charged with shooting and killing a bighorn sheep ewe about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, February 21, just off the upper Reynolds Creek Road above Hemmingway Butte in Owyhee County.

A witness to the incident was watching the same band of sheep when the ewe pitched over dead. The witness secured vehicle descriptions and license plate numbers from the suspect vehicles, then called the Owyhee County Sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office quickly passed the word to Idaho Fish and Game.

From opposite sides of the Reynolds Creek area, Fish and Game Officers Kurt Stieglitz and Craig Mickelson converged. Stieglitz stopped Fouts on Highway 45 just north of Walter’s Ferry. After seizing several firearms, Stieglitz arrested Fouts, who was then booked into the Owyhee County jail. Mickelson and Owyhee County Sheriff Daryl Crandall recovered the dead bighorn ewe at the location described by the witness.

The felony charge against Fouts carries a maximum fine of $50,000, a prison sentence of up to five years and a civil penalty of $1,500. A judge could also revoke Fouts’ hunting privileges for one year to life.

That guy is DUMB..
He's gonna be in the ice house for a looooong time.

can someone please explain to me just why the hell does some dumb chit do this kind of stuff??

He deserves what he gets. He whacks a ewe and then leaves it if I understood the article correctly.

Perhaps I could understand if he was trying to eat it. But this? WOW!

Just think, he might have gotten away with it had someone else not been watching the sheep too. I'm sure (hope) they'll try to make an example out of him.

Here is a picture of a ram I shot (with my camera) this past fall. Putting him in the crosshairs never entered my mind.

What a lowlife. I hope he gets a long jail time and loses his hunting privilege for life.

I hope there is NO mercy on this clown.

I sure hope they can convict him of a felony and not plea bargain down-this person is not a hunter.

I have no simpathy for poachers.

Heck, that's nothing. This week I almost took out about 20 of them coming around a curve on 395 near Lake Abert in Oregon. Whew! Dutch.

The cool thing, our state is in the economy crash too. They will give him the max fine, and are getting the message that a felony conviction is appropriate for chronic stupidity.

Rich