Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Pa. Elk poachers busted

Friggen poachers Rack on the right is a 10X9 that scores almost 433. The other ones are a 5x7 and a 4x5. Sorry for the small pic but its the one from the article and I can't figure out how to make it bigger.

Full article here: PGC news release




Dale

Dale
Thanks for posting- I hate poachers with a passion

Wow.

+1. So do I.

I hope they lose everything and get jail time. No tolerance or sympathy for that.

Pure and simple poaching exaggerated by the fact they left the meat to rot and intended to sell the antlers.

I don't think this potential punishment fits the crime.

From the news release: "If the men are convicted in the incident, the Game Commission will seek they contribute toward $11,500 in replacement costs for the illegally killed elk. Additionally, each man faces thousands of dollars in fines, with the maximum potential fine exceeding $13,000 for the men charged with killing all three elk."

Thanks for posting the bigger picture, Wow is right. The WCO must have had good karma that night.

Dale

"Each man faces a host of charges, the most severe being misdemeanor counts unlawful killing of big game."

I wish that it could be a more severe charge. A misdemeanor does not sound harsh enough.

I think the fines and penalties are actually greater for shooting a black bear out of season than an elk at this time in PA.

I'm personally all for hefty fines, in my mind I say jail time (but it costs too much), so then I would throw a vote for selling their vehicle(s) used in the crime, all of their rifles/shotguns, and then having them do a LOT of manual labor over the next year or 2. Help the PA Game Commission with some projects as well as help the towns with some projects...give them LOTS of time with a shovel to think about their screw ups

PGC confiscates all items used in these events, sometimes they are sold sometimes returned, Not sure how that is decided.

I have seen a lot of poaching for meat, and I wont say it is proper. But people that only take backstraps or horns should get a whole other level of punishment.

Congratulations for all wildlife cops involved. They did a commendable job!

Old laws. There has been some effort to make the punishment more severe but I'm not sure how far it has made it through the Legislature.

Dale

Will this be a felony? Hopefully he'll lose his gun rights.

No on the felony and be careful what you wish for.

UPDATE 10/30/14

GUILTY PLEA IN TROPHY ELK-POACHING CASE
Bellefonte man sentenced to up to 18 months in jail, more than $20,000 in fines and costs.

A Bellefonte man has been sentenced to spend up to 18 months in jail and pay more than $20,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty Wednesday to poaching three bull elk, one of them among the largest on record in Pennsylvania.

Frank Gordo Buchanan Jr., 25, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of unlawful taking of big game, and one count each of unlawful taking of game, unlawful use of a vehicle to take game, and unlawful use of an artificial light to take game.
As part of the plea agreement accepted by Magisterial District Judge Jerome M. Nevling, of Kylertown, Buchanan will spend three to 18 months in the Clearfield County Jail and pay $9,550 in fines. Additionally, he is responsible for paying $11,500 in replacement costs for the poached elk, two of which are classified as trophy-class animals.
Two other men charged in the incident waived their rights to preliminary hearings on charges, sending their cases to county court. If they are convicted of unlawful taking of big game, they, too, would be required to contribute to replacement costs.

Excerpted from the press release (#096-14), the rest of the article rehashes previous information about the animals and how the poachers got caught.

Dale

The rack on the right is a dandy. Too bad it went to poachers.

it didn't. it went to the state......grin