Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Poachers caught

Not too smart... and, they probably deserve more punishment than they will get.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Two men accused of hunting a pair of protected bighorn sheep on private land and beheading them alongside an interstate highway in northern Oregon have been arrested on suspicion of poaching, police say.

Cody Plagmann, 37, and Justin Samora, 32, were taken into custody on Sunday along Interstate 84, some 90 miles east of Portland, and were expected to face misdemeanor charges when they appear in court on Friday, the Oregon State Police said in a written statement.

"Bighorn sheep are one of the rarest game mammals in Oregon today. Because of this, hunters can only draw the tag and get this hunting opportunity once in their lifetime and many never do despite years of applying," state wildlife department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said.

The herd where the two sheep were killed, along the Hood River near Biggs Junction, Oregon, are not ever legal for hunting, Dennehy added.

According to the state police, troopers responded to the scene in response to reports that a man was gutting a big game animal, possibly a bighorn sheep, and found Samora in his vehicle.

While the troopers were questioning Samora, passing motorists advised them that a second man was hiding in the brush, police said. A search turned up Plagmann as well as two severed sheep heads.

"Investigation revealed Plagmann and Samora had worked together to shoot and remove the heads of the bighorn sheep," the Oregon State Police said in the statement.

Plagmann was arrested on suspicion of taking possession of bighorn sheep, wasting of a game animal and hunting on private land. Samora faces charges of aiding in a game violation.

It was not clear if the men had retained attorneys as of Tuesday.

Jeremy Thompson, district wildlife biologist in The Dalles, said in a statement that the protected herd of bighorn sheep has been a popular attraction along Interstate 84 for years.

Oregon has about 5,000 bighorn sheep, which are hunted only under strict guidelines. Last year, some 22,000 hunters applied for a lottery of 96 tags that would allow them to kill one animal each. One tag in 2015 sold at auction for $160,000, Dennehy said.The penalty for killing a bighorn sheep is up to a year in jail and $6,250 in fines. The state could also seek up to $25,000 in civil damages.Bighorn sheep were considered extirpated from the state in the early 19th century due to hunting and disease.

I sure hope that if they are guilty, that they're slapped with fines and punishment as heavy as can be levied.

No amount of money can ever replace the joy that thousands would have had from viewing those sheep in their natural habitat. All I can say is the guys should be grateful I am not the judge. powdr

Wasting a bighorn is a misdemeanor in OR?

Something's wrong with that.

I drove by that event the other day, going the opposite way. Always like to look for the sheep and saw quite a few before I saw OSP out with the truck, they had 2 troopers there a plane and 2 more down the road. I hope they hammer those idiots!

Disgusting is an understatement.

They should have those sheep heads hung around their necks as they slowly decompose over the next month...

Freaking morons, I hope they seize all their stuff along with some jail time.

I wonder if they had a buyer and/or a taxidermist lined up to take them.

I can't believe most taxidermists would put up with that.

I was picking up a mount last December from my taxi and he related a recent story where a guy poached a sheep head and brought it to him. The guy lived in the states and killed the sheep in Canada.

By the time the guy showed up with the head, my taxi and local F&G LEO (in cooperation with Alberta F&G) were there to congratulate him on his trophy.

some more Beavis and Buttheads, that seem to be abundant in our state...

a fine of $6250? Our state legislature must love that number for some reason...... you can be fined $6250 for littering...

I am sure the Samora is a Mexican, so yeah he'll skate on this...

The other clown....probably just another Methhead... doing methhead stuff...stupid, like probably had someone lined up for the heads is my bet...who wanted them as a trophy to put on the wall...

Stupid stuff like this happens in every state... only difference about Oregon, is we have guys stupid enough to continually do dumb things and get caught....and I am sure the ones that do are frequently drug users.... another side show with the legalization of dope, and more and more tolerance for the use of illegal drugs...

The Portlandites are trying their best to create their ultimate liberal Utopia...

F-ing a-holes.

Morons didn't even cape them right for a decent mount.
They should be shot.

I saw something like that when I came through there Sunday.

This is what I said on the other thread down in General Big Game:

The poaching statutes really need to be reworked to allow prosecution under the larceny and grand larceny statutes as well. Why? Because those animals, and all the rest, have a determined monetary value (replacement value, at a minimum). What they have done is straight up theft; they've stolen those animals from the rest of us. That's larceny. Prosecution under the larceny statutes carries a felony conviction, and all the stuff that goes with that (including potentially substantial incarceration).

I really hope that, and will advocate for, conservation organizations to start making this push. I can't think of why sportsmen and women who do it the right way would not support such an initiative.

I fully agree. If you can be sent to jail twice for letting a fire spread to desert wasteland then you should spend a long time behind bars for crimes like this.

If a potentially dead one on tag auction is worth 16K then a live breeding one should be worth at least that or even double

If a potentially dead one on tag auction is worth 16K then a live breeding one should be worth at least that or even double if poached

Note the narrow between the eyes guy with the neck tattoo..

The other challenge is getting prosecutors to actually prosecute. Too many DA offices don't take wildlife offenses seriously, and offer very light plea bargains.

Or judges when it comes time for sentencing for that matter.....


Casey

I believe that would be more correct if it read John Day River as opposed to Hood. Been trying for an Oregon tag since 1975. This is my year for sure.

Hope they get taken to the cleaners.