Post by Woody Williams on Feb 18, 2007 12:49:07 GMT -5
Way to go Greendeem.....we are proud of you!!
Online bragging alerts Internet-savvy officer
Phil Bloom
www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/outdoors/16728437.htm
Conservation Officer John Deem shows off a possibly ill-gotten trophy.
Mix hunting knowledge with a new state-issued laptop computer, some Internet savvy and a law officer’s innate suspicions and what do you get?
A high-tech investigation that resulted in a Steuben County man now facing several misdemeanor charges that he illegally killed a deer in November.
“Hey, it’s a new age, man,” conservation officer John Deem said. “We used to sneak around at night digging through burn piles. Now, we’re sitting at home with our laptops.”
Deem, who is assigned to Steuben, is an avid deer hunter, so he frequently visits Internet message boards on which Hoosier hunters share their experiences, debate wildlife management practices, and sometimes brag about the “big buck” they just bagged.
One such braggart was showing off his lucky day last year and included photos of his trophy, likely the biggest buck ever killed in deer-rich Steuben County.
Unlike a typical taxidermist’s mount, this deer was done up in what’s called a “European mount” with the antlers and just a bare skull. The guy also included a video clip of the deer before he shot it but provided few details of his hunt.
“This kind of stuck out as not quite being right,” Deem said. “He really didn’t want to tell the story of how it happened.
“There aren’t very many people who get on the Internet and show a picture of a big buck they killed without telling a story about it. I also thought it was kind of odd that somebody would kill a world-class buck like that and get a European mount rather than a full mount. Most taxidermists for a deer that big would mount it for free just to display it for awhile.”
Deem said other message board visitors began questioning the validity of the kill, so he did some snooping. First, he blew up the Internet photo to read the plaque affixed to the deer mount. That’s how he got the guy’s name.
He then checked the Department of Natural Resources license sales, which are now on a data base since licensing was converted to a computerized system two years ago.
“I could sit down on my laptop and find out where he bought a license, what time, what date, what kind of license he bought,” Deem said. “I had that at my fingertips real quick.”
What he found was a firearms license purchased at 2:32 p.m. on Nov. 27. Deem and fellow officer Jim Price then manually sifted through mandatory check-in logs and didn’t find an entry for the guy having reported his kill.
Deem paid the guy a visit Feb. 10, asked some questions and felt he came away with enough information to pursue a search warrant. A key tidbit was the guy saying he shot the deer on Nov. 21 – almost a full week before he bought a license.
Deem planned to pick up the search warrant on the following Monday but on Sunday morning was tipped off by the operator of the hunting message board that the guy being investigated was suddenly purging information from the Internet.
“I got nervous because I thought he got spooked and might run off with the rack,” Deem said.
Deem got the warrant and with officers Bob Duff and Gary Whitaker returned to the home Sunday afternoon to confiscate the mount, videotape and the Marlin lever-action rifle the guy is accused of using to kill the deer.
Deem said several misdemeanor charges are pending, including illegal possession of a deer, use of an illegal weapon, failure to tag, failure to report to a check-in station, and hunting without a license.
All because of the innovative work of a conservation officer with a little curiosity and a new laptop.
Phil Bloom has been outdoors editor for The Journal Gazette since 1991. He can be reached by e-mail at pbloom@jg.net; phone, 461-8257; or fax 461-8648. To discuss this column, go to the “Phil Bloom” topic of “The Board” at www.journalgazette.net.
Online bragging alerts Internet-savvy officer
Phil Bloom
www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/sports/outdoors/16728437.htm
Conservation Officer John Deem shows off a possibly ill-gotten trophy. Mix hunting knowledge with a new state-issued laptop computer, some Internet savvy and a law officer’s innate suspicions and what do you get?
A high-tech investigation that resulted in a Steuben County man now facing several misdemeanor charges that he illegally killed a deer in November.
“Hey, it’s a new age, man,” conservation officer John Deem said. “We used to sneak around at night digging through burn piles. Now, we’re sitting at home with our laptops.”
Deem, who is assigned to Steuben, is an avid deer hunter, so he frequently visits Internet message boards on which Hoosier hunters share their experiences, debate wildlife management practices, and sometimes brag about the “big buck” they just bagged.
One such braggart was showing off his lucky day last year and included photos of his trophy, likely the biggest buck ever killed in deer-rich Steuben County.
Unlike a typical taxidermist’s mount, this deer was done up in what’s called a “European mount” with the antlers and just a bare skull. The guy also included a video clip of the deer before he shot it but provided few details of his hunt.
“This kind of stuck out as not quite being right,” Deem said. “He really didn’t want to tell the story of how it happened.
“There aren’t very many people who get on the Internet and show a picture of a big buck they killed without telling a story about it. I also thought it was kind of odd that somebody would kill a world-class buck like that and get a European mount rather than a full mount. Most taxidermists for a deer that big would mount it for free just to display it for awhile.”
Deem said other message board visitors began questioning the validity of the kill, so he did some snooping. First, he blew up the Internet photo to read the plaque affixed to the deer mount. That’s how he got the guy’s name.
He then checked the Department of Natural Resources license sales, which are now on a data base since licensing was converted to a computerized system two years ago.
“I could sit down on my laptop and find out where he bought a license, what time, what date, what kind of license he bought,” Deem said. “I had that at my fingertips real quick.”
What he found was a firearms license purchased at 2:32 p.m. on Nov. 27. Deem and fellow officer Jim Price then manually sifted through mandatory check-in logs and didn’t find an entry for the guy having reported his kill.
Deem paid the guy a visit Feb. 10, asked some questions and felt he came away with enough information to pursue a search warrant. A key tidbit was the guy saying he shot the deer on Nov. 21 – almost a full week before he bought a license.
Deem planned to pick up the search warrant on the following Monday but on Sunday morning was tipped off by the operator of the hunting message board that the guy being investigated was suddenly purging information from the Internet.
“I got nervous because I thought he got spooked and might run off with the rack,” Deem said.
Deem got the warrant and with officers Bob Duff and Gary Whitaker returned to the home Sunday afternoon to confiscate the mount, videotape and the Marlin lever-action rifle the guy is accused of using to kill the deer.
Deem said several misdemeanor charges are pending, including illegal possession of a deer, use of an illegal weapon, failure to tag, failure to report to a check-in station, and hunting without a license.
All because of the innovative work of a conservation officer with a little curiosity and a new laptop.
Phil Bloom has been outdoors editor for The Journal Gazette since 1991. He can be reached by e-mail at pbloom@jg.net; phone, 461-8257; or fax 461-8648. To discuss this column, go to the “Phil Bloom” topic of “The Board” at www.journalgazette.net.
