02-20-2007, 11:57 PM
In a case that Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officers (WCOs) said proves "there is no honor among poachers," multiple charges were filed against four residents from northwestern Pennsylvania for unlawful use of lights while hunting, unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and unlawful possession of a deer that was killed by another group of unidentified poachers. The charges were the result of several years worth of information provided by concerned citizens.
Carl Martin Hall, 20, of Edinboro, and Keith Patrick Tarr, 21, of Titusville, pled guilty to one count each of unlawful use of lights while hunting and one count each of possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle. They each paid fines of $800, in addition to court costs, to these charges, filed by Erie County WCO Michael Wojtecki, stemming from an incident on Oct. 22, 2006.
Hall and Tarr also pled guilty to one count each of unlawfully attempting to take wildlife, and Hall pled guilty to possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle on Oct. 15, 2006. Both also pled guilty to one count each of unlawful possession of deer parts on Oct. 22, 2006. Hall paid fines of $1,400 and Tarr paid fines of $1,250, in addition to court costs, to these charges, filed by Crawford County WCO Mark Allegro, stemming from these incidents on Oct. 15 and 22, 2006.
Incidental to the investigation of the Oct. 15 and 22 violations, information was developed and statements were obtained from Timothy W. Stover, 36, of Warren, and Michael Baer, 23, of Cambridge Springs, about unlawful taking of deer in September of 2005. Stover was charged with three counts of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife. Baer pled guilty to one count of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife, and was ordered to pay a $600 fine and court costs. Stover, however, faces fines of up to $2,400, in addition to court costs, and has an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
"Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Timothy Stover should contact the Northwest Region Office at 814-432-3188," WCO Allegro said. "All information will be kept confidential."
All charges were filed before Magisterial Judge Lincoln Zilhaver in Sagertown, Crawford County.
At 9:30 p.m. on. Oct. 22, a concerned landowner contacted the Game Commission Deputy WCO Jack Kasony to report shooting in the field by his home on Florek Road, Edinboro, near the Erie/Crawford county line. WCO Wojtecki and Deputy WCO Jack Kasony met the landowner, who also provided a description of the vehicle he saw in the area.
With the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police from the Meadville Barracks, the suspect's vehicle was found in a field a short distance away from where the shooting took place. The suspect's were in the house on Capp Road and, during the interview, admitted to the officers that they had poached deer. A scoped 22-caliber rifle and spotlight were found in the car, and two spent cartridges were on the floor.
During the investigation, WCO Wojtecki and Crawford County WCO Mark Allegro found dried blood and deer hair inside of the trunk from a previous event a few days earlier. From this evidence, WCOs Wojtecki and Allegro discovered that Hall and Tarr were driving around the Titusville area and, as they drove around, saw another vehicle shine a light in a field and kill a deer.
According to WCOs Wojtecki and Allegro, it appears that the unidentified poachers were scared off when they saw the two defendants approaching in another vehicle. Once the unidentified poachers took off, the two picked up the deer and placed it in their vehicle.
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.
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Carl Martin Hall, 20, of Edinboro, and Keith Patrick Tarr, 21, of Titusville, pled guilty to one count each of unlawful use of lights while hunting and one count each of possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle. They each paid fines of $800, in addition to court costs, to these charges, filed by Erie County WCO Michael Wojtecki, stemming from an incident on Oct. 22, 2006.
Hall and Tarr also pled guilty to one count each of unlawfully attempting to take wildlife, and Hall pled guilty to possessing a loaded firearm in a vehicle on Oct. 15, 2006. Both also pled guilty to one count each of unlawful possession of deer parts on Oct. 22, 2006. Hall paid fines of $1,400 and Tarr paid fines of $1,250, in addition to court costs, to these charges, filed by Crawford County WCO Mark Allegro, stemming from these incidents on Oct. 15 and 22, 2006.
Incidental to the investigation of the Oct. 15 and 22 violations, information was developed and statements were obtained from Timothy W. Stover, 36, of Warren, and Michael Baer, 23, of Cambridge Springs, about unlawful taking of deer in September of 2005. Stover was charged with three counts of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife. Baer pled guilty to one count of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife, and was ordered to pay a $600 fine and court costs. Stover, however, faces fines of up to $2,400, in addition to court costs, and has an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
"Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Timothy Stover should contact the Northwest Region Office at 814-432-3188," WCO Allegro said. "All information will be kept confidential."
All charges were filed before Magisterial Judge Lincoln Zilhaver in Sagertown, Crawford County.
At 9:30 p.m. on. Oct. 22, a concerned landowner contacted the Game Commission Deputy WCO Jack Kasony to report shooting in the field by his home on Florek Road, Edinboro, near the Erie/Crawford county line. WCO Wojtecki and Deputy WCO Jack Kasony met the landowner, who also provided a description of the vehicle he saw in the area.
With the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police from the Meadville Barracks, the suspect's vehicle was found in a field a short distance away from where the shooting took place. The suspect's were in the house on Capp Road and, during the interview, admitted to the officers that they had poached deer. A scoped 22-caliber rifle and spotlight were found in the car, and two spent cartridges were on the floor.
During the investigation, WCO Wojtecki and Crawford County WCO Mark Allegro found dried blood and deer hair inside of the trunk from a previous event a few days earlier. From this evidence, WCOs Wojtecki and Allegro discovered that Hall and Tarr were driving around the Titusville area and, as they drove around, saw another vehicle shine a light in a field and kill a deer.
According to WCOs Wojtecki and Allegro, it appears that the unidentified poachers were scared off when they saw the two defendants approaching in another vehicle. Once the unidentified poachers took off, the two picked up the deer and placed it in their vehicle.
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.
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