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January 2010 The Great Outdoors
A shot in the dark
 by Jack Spaulding
Outdoors Writer
Indiana Turn-in-a-Poacher Hotline helps capture Florida poachers
Indiana’s Turn-In-a-Poacher Hotline and communication network has proven its value over and over again by providing Hoosiers a method to report suspected poaching and polluting of our natural resources. In early December, a call to authorities helped bring two poachers from Florida to justice.
 When responding to an early morning complaint registered by an alert resident, Indiana conservation officers from the Department of Natural Resources apprehended two Florida men on deer poaching charges in Switzerland County.
Lee Hunter, 43, of Perry, Fla., and Bobby Futch, 41, Steinhatchee, Fla., were each charged with four counts of illegally taking deer and one count of using a spotlight to illegally take deer. The violations are Class C misdemeanors. The two suspects entered guilty pleas on Dec. 3 in Switzerland County Circuit Court and face fines, court costs, and $500 reimbursement per deer along with the forfeiture of the firearm used in the violations.
The citizen who contacted law enforcement officials by phone after hearing gunfire from a nearby highway provided a vehicle description, direction of travel and a critical piece of information … one of the suspects had exited the vehicle on foot.
A short time later, officers from the Vevay Police Department and Switzerland County Sheriff’s Department observed a spotlight being shined from the suspect vehicle. They stopped the vehicle and found the driver, Lee Hunter, in possession of a .22 magnum rifle and spotlight.
While interviewing Hunter, officers learned his accomplice, Bobby Futch, was on foot, intending to cut the head off of the white-tailed buck they just shot.
Indiana Conservation Officer Steve Kinne located a freshly-killed headless deer carcass near the scene, as well as a hand saw and the severed deer head. With assistance from Switzerland County Sheriff’s deputies and K-9 units, Kinne determined Futch’s direction of travel. Futch, who had fled on foot, was contacted via Hunter’s cell phone and convinced to surrender to law enforcement officers. Further investigation revealed the two men illegally killed an additional six deer in Indiana during November.
“They weren’t killing the deer for the meat or for profit but just for the antlers,” Kinne said. “It was just so they could take the antlers back to Florida and brag about the big deer they shot. The meat was going to waste.”
Kinne credited interagency cooperation for making “a world of difference” in the investigation. Units assisting Indiana Conservation Officers were the Vevay Police Department, Switzerland County Sheriff’s Department, and Indiana State Police.
Indiana residents are encouraged to call the Turn-In-A-Poacher hotline if they suspect illegal fish and wildlife activity or polluting. The toll-free number is 1-800-TIP-IDNR (1-800-847-4367).
Reports also can be made online at TIP.IN.gov. Callers are not required to give their names and their identities are kept strictly anonymous. Callers are never required to sign an affidavit or to testify in court. In specific cases, rewards of up to $200 may be paid to the informant.
If you see a suspected game violation or an act of pollution … please call the Tip Hotline. It works!
till next time,
Jack Spaulding is a state outdoors writer and a consumer of RushShelby Energy from Milroy.
Readers with questions or comments can write to him in care of Electric Consumer, P.O. Box 24517, Indianapolis, IN 46224; or e-mail outdoors@cnz.com.
Written By: eceditor
Date Posted: 12/22/2009
Number of Views: 270
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