Conservation officers' tales - November 2005

While working shining complaints, CO Neil Freborg (Lake George) observed a vehicle stop and heard several shots fired by one of the occupants. Three young men were arrested. The game violations turned out to be the least of their worries since the rifle used turned out to be stolen, and a search of the vehicle revealed an illegal submachine gun.

THE "WRONG WAY" TO OPERATE AN ATV

CO Nikki Shoutz (Pine River) reported what started as an ATV stop for operating the "wrong way" on the shoulder of a county road resulted in a DUI arrest of a man who also had a cancelled driver's license. The ATV was seized and the operator went to jail.

ROUTINE STOP UNCOVERS MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS

CO Jeff Johanson (Osakis) reported a routine hunter check resulted in violations of an overlimit of wood ducks, unplugged shotgun, possessing toxic shot, transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, no PFDs in a duck boat, a minor in possession of alcohol, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

TELL THE TRUTH

A young lady explained to Lt. Norm Floden (Perham) that she didn't need a fishing license since she was only 15. Further questioning, jotting down her name and address as well as the false birth date, plus the statement that the officer would verify her birth date seemed to convince her that she needed to give Floden her real birthday. A court appearance is pending.

NOT MY WIFE

CO Darin Fagerman (Grand Marais) reported a 20-pound chinook salmon was seized and a citation issued when it was found that the woman who caught the fish was not the wife of the man who bought the husband/wife fishing license.

VIOLATERS BAGGED

COs Kevin Prodzinski (Zumbrota) and Mitch Boyum (Rochester) checked a group of waterfowlers who started the season more than five hours early, as well as hunted with lead shot and unplugged guns. The group explained they were shooting at ducks, but had not killed any. A quick search by CO Prodzinski's dog revealed a pied billed grebe, a double-crested cormorant, and a coot, all dead, in the nearby bullrush. Appropriate enforcement action was taken.

LUCKY, BUT UNLUCKY

Officer Travis Muyres (Ham Lake) checked a group that was lucky enough to take six geese from one flock and found four of them had leg bands. Unfortunately, one hunter had no license, two had no plug and two had no waterfowl stamps. All six geese were confiscated.

MORE FISH DUMPED IN THE WOODS

Officer Tim Collette (Cass Lake) responded to more calls of illegal gill nets on Cass Lake and Winnie and found another pile of fish dumped in the woods. One of the nets had about 50 dead and rotting fish in it. In with the many northerns, sunfish, crappie and tulibees were several large walleyes, some in the 7-to 8-pound range.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT

CO Dan Starr (Tower) reported a fisherman quickly threw back a walleye he just caught when the officer approached. The angler told the officer he did not want a heavier fine for keeping a fish without a license.

SPARE PARTS

CO Scott Staples (Carlton) investigated a complaint of someone taking a deer out of season. While interviewing the suspect about deer remains on his property, it was determined that the deer was a roadkill deer. When it was found that there were parts from two different deer in the yard, the suspect admitted that he had shot the other deer two days earlier with a rifle. Charges are pending.

PASS THE BUTTER, PLEASE

During a report of smoke, CO Adam Block (Prior Lake) discovered an elderly male on fire as a result of operating a cutting torch. The man suffered burns on his right arm and leg. The man asked the officer for butter to put on his burns. CO Block convinced the man he needed to seek professional medical treatment. The smoke was from a tire on fire as a result of the incident.

YOU WEREN'T INVITED

CO Tony Arhart (Deer River) reported a bobcat entered an opened sliding door at a residence after a salmon fish dinner was prepared. The cat reportedly jumped off the kitchen counter and ran out the same open door without incident.

FOUR-WHEEL TROUBLE

CO Julie Siems (Faribault) observed an ATV with an adult and two small children on it. The ATV was stopped. Neither the preschooler or first-grader had a helmet on, the ATV had no registration and the operator's driver license was suspended. There was also a warrant for his arrest.

"LUCKY"

CO Mitch Boyum (Rochester) and CO Todd VanderWeyst (Paynesville) were off-duty and duck hunting with VanderWeyst's young dog out of a boat blind. While running the boat, the restless pup was tied up with a leash up front. Unfortunately, there was just enough leash for the pup to lean over the side of the boat. Because of the blind material the hunters did not see that the dog had fallen/jumped out of the boat. It is unknown how long the pup was dragged under the boat, choking from his collar. When they finally realized what had happened they pulled the dog back into the boat. The pup's eyes were glassed over and he had no pulse. They started CPR and after about a minute, the pup coughed and started to blink. He also responded to his name "Dutch." In less than an hour the dog was acting like nothing had ever happened. The officers think the dog should have been named "Lucky."

NO, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT IS, BUT THAT'S ILLEGAL

CO Paul Kuske (Pierz) assisted a Morrison County deputy in arresting four deer poachers. The four set out one evening around 9:30 p.m with the intent to find some fresh venison. They lined the back of their van with plastic sheeting, and brought butcher knives and a spotlight. They armed themselves with a .22 rifle and a bow and arrow. The mistake they made was trying to shoot a deer near the arresting deputy's home! One of the individuals made the statement, "You know how it is. You take one shot, if the deer doesn't drop you move on. The whole thing shouldn't take more than 30 seconds."

SHOOTING BEAR WHILE DUCK HUNTING

CO Bret Grundmeier (Mora) investigated a TIP call reporting a waterfowl hunter who shot a bear while duck hunting. The investigation resulted in finding a duck hunter with no small game license or duck stamps and no bear license.

CALLER ID

CO Matt Loftness (Redwood Falls) assisted with a call of a vehicle found in the Minnesota River. As he talked with the caller who was fishing along the river, it turned out that the caller had no angling license and a warrant for his arrest.

UNABLE TO GET THE LICENSE NUMBER

CO Greg Abraham (New Ulm) parked his truck at the corner of a cornfield while working late shooters. He was sitting on the roof of the truck waiting for shots when three deer ran along the edge of the cornfield. One turned the corner and took a header into the right rear door of the truck, staggered around a bit, and then took off to join his friends.

INVESTIGATION REVEALS THE TRUTH

Officer Pat Znajda (Roseau) encountered four men riding on an ATV in a secluded area. They were not wearing any blaze orange. When they saw Znajda, they abandoned the ATV and approached him. Znajda noted some other unusual activity with the men and further checking revealed the men were pulling an untagged fawn and large 9-point buck behind the ATV.

One of the men claimed to have shot the buck in the morning by archery and the fawn in the afternoon with a shotgun. Further investigation revealed the buck had been shot by a slug. Charges are pending.

MIND-BOGGLING MUD BOGGERS

CO Dustie Heaton (Isle) found two unoccupied vehicles stuck in the ditch along a county road. Three males came out of the woods. They admitting to "mud bogging" in the ditch before they got stuck. One operator was cited for driving after cancellation of license and admitted to not having insurance on the vehicle. The other operator was taken to jail for DWI and the vehicle owner had no proof of insurance. Both vehicles were towed.

GUN RETURNED TO SKEPTICAL HUNTER

A hunter reported to CO Luke Croatt (Wealthwood) of leaving a cased gun behind in a landing area after hunting on county land. He returned to the spot where he had left it and the gun was gone. Croatt advised the unfortunate party that hunters are generally honest people and would report the gun to the sheriff's office when found. A party living only five miles away returned the gun to the skeptical but very happy hunter. Small world considering the hunting area was about ninety miles away from where the gun was lost.

NORTHERN HOSPITALITY

CO Darrin Kittelson (International Falls) assisted a family that was down on their luck. As they were pulling their boat out of the water, their camper slid off the truck and onto the boat trailer. Definitely not a good thing! Northern hospitality came to the rescue. With the help of two local guys from Birchdale, and some ingenuity, the camper was slide back onto the truck with little damage.

BUT I DIDN'T SHOOT ANYTHING, OFFICER

CO Dale Ebel (Duluth) reported a hunter told him he forgot his license at the cabin. After a short walk down the road, the hunter couldn't take it any longer, turned around and told the officer that he just didn't have time to buy a license and he would appreciate a break since he didn't shoot anything. When Ebel asked him about the shots he had heard in the woods earlier the man said, "I didn't shoot anything, not that I didn't try." The hunter was issued a citation.

WETLANDS VIOLATOR LANDS IN JAIL

CO Scott Staples (Carlton) contacted a man for failing to comply with a wetland restoration order. The man had no excuse for not completing the work and was issued a summons for the offense. While writing out the summons, it was found that the man also had an outstanding warrant so after receiving his summons on the restoration order, he went to jail on the warrant.

OUTSTANDING IN GEORGIA

CO Jim Guida (Brainerd) arrested an operator of an ATV for driving while intoxicated. The operator tested well above the .08 blood alcohol content level. The operator had an outstanding warrant from Georgia for drug-related offenses and had a history of fighting with peace officers.

SOMEBODY'S ALWAYS WATCHING

Officer Scott Staples (Carlton) worked an incident with CO Mike Scott where a man shot a deer out of his vehicle. The man retrieved the deer, field dressed it, placed it in his trunk and left. What the poacher didn't know, was that there was a bow hunter in a tree across the road that watched the whole thing and called Turn-in-Poachers. The suspect was arrested for shooting big game out of season, shooting from a motor vehicle, shooting at big game from the roadway and transporting illegally taken big game. The suspect's rifle was seized and will be forfeited. The suspect's vehicle is also subject to forfeiture.

WATCHING AND LISTENING

CO Jim Tischler (Cuyuna State Recreation Area) worked the Camp Ripley special archery hunt, which according to the local wildlife manager was a great success. One continual problem was hunters using walkie-talkies in violation of state game laws. On numerous occasions, hunters could be heard whispering on their radios to other hunters describing deer moving or to direct other hunters in their party. Tischler and CO Randy Posner (Brainerd) reported that as two trucks came down the trail the occupants were heard to say "DNR dead ahead" when they came into view. Assistance was also given to the Range Control Military Police with speed enforcement. Most of the individuals stopped were driving almost twice the posted speed limit on Camp Ripley.