Hold My Beer and Take the Wheel
A landowner near Abilene alerted a game warden about a vehicle spotlighting and shooting from a county road. The warden quickly responded and located the suspected vehicle. After following the vehicle for a distance, the warden observed gunshots coming from the passenger compartment. Upon making a traffic stop, the warden asked the three occupants what they were doing. A female subject stated that she and her boyfriend were teaching her son how to drive while they were drinking and shooting feral hogs off the road. Upon further search of the vehicle, drug paraphernalia and a small bag of methamphetamine were located next to where one subject was sitting. One subject was taken to jail for possession of controlled substance and another received a citation for open container and hunting from a public roadway.
You Are Here
A Freestone County game warden received a tip from a local DPS trooper about a white-tailed buck that may have been taken illegally. The state trooper had stopped an individual riding an ATV on a public roadway, and the operator said he had been hunting and was on his way to transport a deer he had just taken. When the warden arrived at the hunter’s camp, he observed the head from a freshly killed buck that obviously did not meet the county’s minimum antler requirements and was untagged. The carcass had been quartered and stored in a nearby ice chest. When questioned, the hunter said the deer was killed in the morning and wasn’t tagged because he didn’t know the county he was hunting. Citations issued for taking an undersized buck, tagging violation and hunting log violation.
Roosting Duck Busters
A Liberty County game warden was checking a local duck roost that he had received multiple tips regarding illegal hunting activity when he spotted a pickup parked just beyond an entrance gate leading down to the pond. After setting up surveillance nearby, the warden heard shots from the direction of the pond well past legal hunting hours. The warden waited in the dark for the group to walk back to their truck. Contact was made, and citations were issued for hunting ducks after hours, with an unplugged shotgun. Civil restitution was charged for the taking of wood ducks illegally. Cases pending.
Can’t Keep a Secret
In late December, Bexar County game wardens received information about a subject who had posted on social media about his trespassing adventures on San Antonio Power Plant property and fishing in a prohibited area of Calaveras Lake. After reviewing several social media posts, the game wardens were able to identify the subject. Further investigation into the subject determined that he was on felony probation. On Jan. 10, during the subject’s scheduled court appearance with his probation officer and judge Bexar County game wardens presented evidence of his illegal fishing activities. Case and restitution pending.
