Post by greyghosthntr on May 11, 2010 21:51:45 GMT -5
I know that this story has been posted on this site previously but I thought that I would share the latest update with you. I was at the Ohio deer show measuring racks when this deer was confiscated. The enclosed story was shown on a Cincinnati TV news channel earlier tonight.
I for one am glad to see a big fine and the loss of this poacher's hunting privileges for life in Ohio. I would like to see the loss of hunting privileges for life honored in all states.
I feel really bad for the guys who were trying to hunt this buck legally. A buck like this is a once in a lifetime trophy. A buddy and I were watching a 190 class buck in Brown County Ohio all summer long four years ago only to have a poacher take it away from us with a gun at night during bow season. The poacher was eventually caught but that season was stolen from us in many ways.
Here is the latest update:
Poacher Convicted Of Killing Trophy Deer
Last Update: 6:54 pm 5/11/2009
Trophy Deer Hunters in Adams County had their eyes trained on a monster 16-point buck, they knew would make record books. They waited for the proper time to take him.
But Local 12's Rich Jaffe says what these ethical hunters didn't know was a well-known poacher had his sights set on the same deer.
People worldwide are coming to know rural Adams County as a mecca for trophy whitetail deer. That's also making it a big-time destination for poachers. Last year, two Adams County hunters tried to do it the right way. They shot video of the world class trophy feeding in the bean fields, where he went almost every evening. They also used trail cameras to catch glimpses of the monarch in the woods, even consulting with Game Warden Chris Gilke.
Chris Rice, Division of Wildlife: "These guys wanted to be proactive and make sure Officer Gilke knew this is the deer we're hunting, here's pictures of it, if we end up getting this deer, we're going to call you and we want you to verify this deer was legally taken."
Prepared to hunt the deer legally when bow season opened the end of September, the buck disappeared a few weeks before. It was never seen again until March, when the same hunters saw the now mounted trophy at an expo in Columbus.
Chris Gilkey, Adams County Game Warden: "We had that deer narrowed down to a specific place. We knew that if this deer showed up even 20, 30 miles away as harvested by a hunter, we knew they were going to have to answer some questions."
The next day, Game Wardens Chris Gilke and Chris Rice returned to the outdoors show and interviewed Johnny Clay, the man who boasted about shooting the record book buck. Clay went so far as to sign on with an outdoors show as one of their staff hunters, and produce a video about how he took the trophy, lying all the way through it.
"When John Clay checked in his record book buck, he actually checked it in over the phone in Kentucky, so until he got busted, it was the biggest deer ever taken with a bow in the State of Kentucky."
But after just a few hours of interviews with the game wardens, Clay confessed to poaching the buck in Ohio.
Now, the third largest typical buck ever taken in the state will hang on a Division of Wildlife wall, a trophy to a poacher. This deer was the largest typical deer killed anywhere in the world at the time John Clay poached it. Clay plead guilty to several charges, including hunting without permission and taking the deer out of season. His conviction means he permanently loses hunting privileges in Ohio, and could lose them in other states. He'll also pay fines, court costs and the largest restitution penalty in Ohio history, almost 24-thousand dollars.
Division of Wildlife officers tell us they've arrested Clay several times before. He's even done jail time in the past for poaching. But he's never paid any penalty as serious as this one.
Also a link to the site where this story came from:
www.local12.com/news/local/story/Poacher-Convicted-Of-Killing-Trophy-Deer/GqlQTMQ57E2xBma1ZY7Jsg.cspx
I for one am glad to see a big fine and the loss of this poacher's hunting privileges for life in Ohio. I would like to see the loss of hunting privileges for life honored in all states.
I feel really bad for the guys who were trying to hunt this buck legally. A buck like this is a once in a lifetime trophy. A buddy and I were watching a 190 class buck in Brown County Ohio all summer long four years ago only to have a poacher take it away from us with a gun at night during bow season. The poacher was eventually caught but that season was stolen from us in many ways.
Here is the latest update:
Poacher Convicted Of Killing Trophy Deer
Last Update: 6:54 pm 5/11/2009
Trophy Deer Hunters in Adams County had their eyes trained on a monster 16-point buck, they knew would make record books. They waited for the proper time to take him.
But Local 12's Rich Jaffe says what these ethical hunters didn't know was a well-known poacher had his sights set on the same deer.
People worldwide are coming to know rural Adams County as a mecca for trophy whitetail deer. That's also making it a big-time destination for poachers. Last year, two Adams County hunters tried to do it the right way. They shot video of the world class trophy feeding in the bean fields, where he went almost every evening. They also used trail cameras to catch glimpses of the monarch in the woods, even consulting with Game Warden Chris Gilke.
Chris Rice, Division of Wildlife: "These guys wanted to be proactive and make sure Officer Gilke knew this is the deer we're hunting, here's pictures of it, if we end up getting this deer, we're going to call you and we want you to verify this deer was legally taken."
Prepared to hunt the deer legally when bow season opened the end of September, the buck disappeared a few weeks before. It was never seen again until March, when the same hunters saw the now mounted trophy at an expo in Columbus.
Chris Gilkey, Adams County Game Warden: "We had that deer narrowed down to a specific place. We knew that if this deer showed up even 20, 30 miles away as harvested by a hunter, we knew they were going to have to answer some questions."
The next day, Game Wardens Chris Gilke and Chris Rice returned to the outdoors show and interviewed Johnny Clay, the man who boasted about shooting the record book buck. Clay went so far as to sign on with an outdoors show as one of their staff hunters, and produce a video about how he took the trophy, lying all the way through it.
"When John Clay checked in his record book buck, he actually checked it in over the phone in Kentucky, so until he got busted, it was the biggest deer ever taken with a bow in the State of Kentucky."
But after just a few hours of interviews with the game wardens, Clay confessed to poaching the buck in Ohio.
Now, the third largest typical buck ever taken in the state will hang on a Division of Wildlife wall, a trophy to a poacher. This deer was the largest typical deer killed anywhere in the world at the time John Clay poached it. Clay plead guilty to several charges, including hunting without permission and taking the deer out of season. His conviction means he permanently loses hunting privileges in Ohio, and could lose them in other states. He'll also pay fines, court costs and the largest restitution penalty in Ohio history, almost 24-thousand dollars.
Division of Wildlife officers tell us they've arrested Clay several times before. He's even done jail time in the past for poaching. But he's never paid any penalty as serious as this one.
Also a link to the site where this story came from:
www.local12.com/news/local/story/Poacher-Convicted-Of-Killing-Trophy-Deer/GqlQTMQ57E2xBma1ZY7Jsg.cspx
