More Utah Poachers

younggun20 · August 25, 2009, 05:01 PM

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7676076

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A call to Utah's Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline has resulted in a major poaching arrest in southwestern Utah earlier this month.

Hurricane resident Mathew Steven Spendlove is accused of poaching seven buck deer in Washington County.

Division of Wildlife Resources officers began investigating in November 2008 when a confidential informant called the hotline to report a deer that had been killed outside of hunting season. Their work on the case led them to Spendlove and eventually a warrant to search his home.

Inside the home, officers found seven sets of deer antlers and photos on a cell phone, a camera and a computer that provided enough evidence for prosecutors to charge Spendlove with the crimes.

A trial date has been set for Sept. 10. If Spendlove is found guilty, he could spend the next five years in jail, pay $13,000 in fines and pay $2,800 in restitution.

azredhawk44 · August 25, 2009, 05:10 PM

Wow.

Aside from the whole "poaching is immoral" angle, the object lesson here is not to post your poached kills on intarwebz sites to brag about. And don't keep trophies.

Shoot, eat, shovel, shut up.

The state would have had no evidence if their showpiece evidence is largely trophy related.

SwampYankee · August 25, 2009, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Shoot, eat, shovel, shut up.

That list describes the appropriate behavior for a slew of different activities...

I'm sure the creation dates on those digital photos were also more than a little damning.

simonkenton · August 25, 2009, 06:40 PM

Good work cops!
Put the poaching pos in jail where he belongs.

shortwave · August 25, 2009, 08:25 PM

+1 simmonkenton. I have no use for a poacher and have witnessed, first hand, the distruction of quality game animals(especially deer) just for certain body parts. The rest left for the buzzards:barf:.

LateNightFlight · August 25, 2009, 11:34 PM

Yes! Round up those poachers! Poaching doesn't seem to be much of a problem in my area that I'm aware of, but it sure was in California. The area I deer hunted just about had the bears cleaned out by Asian poachers who were taking only the gall bladders.

And it was worse with abalone. We found a rare dive spot with easy accessibility where we could easily pull limits. We went back to the same spot for the next season opener and it was cleaned out. We were shocked, but later learned they had busted a group who was poaching for the black market, and they had focused on that area. The damage they did was irreparable - it will be centuries before that population returns to what it was, if ever. The divers who will drag into that location, dive and come up empty handed because of these thieves will be numerous.

Poaching is not a victimless crime; it robs all of us.

Crankylove · August 26, 2009, 10:21 AM

No wonder we couldnt fill our deer tags last year...........they are all being shot out of season.

2damnold4this · August 26, 2009, 10:27 AM

I notice he had antlers and pictures but the article didn't mention a freezer full of meat.

Yellowfin · August 26, 2009, 01:59 PM

I had some poached eggs this morning for breakfast. Yummy!

ZeroJunk · August 26, 2009, 02:44 PM

I am not going to break the game laws. But, if I did I would poach something better than those.

davlandrum · August 26, 2009, 03:12 PM

Quote:

I'm sure the creation dates on those digital photos were also more than a little damning.

I am one of those morons who always has the date wrong on thier photos. About 90% of mine were taken 01/01/2001.....

bwheasler · August 26, 2009, 10:10 PM

These as the same #%&holes the steal from old women. These spineless slugs not worth the time of day. If starving, shooting a deer is againist the law, but a argueable case in anyones eyes. But this was pure ego and greed and like anything else it just take a few @!ckers like them to ruin it for the rest of us. If you police youself, then we don't need anyone else to police us. Right?

srt 10 jimbo · August 27, 2009, 09:30 AM

Poached eggs give me Gas.

wyobohunter · August 27, 2009, 10:37 PM

I couldn't hardly hold it against somebody if they had to do it to feed the kids but, this is not the case here, I say throw the book at em'.

thallub · August 28, 2009, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Good work cops!
Put the poaching pos in jail where he belongs.

My sentiments exactly. In most of OK a hunter seldom sees a nice buck deer because the road spotlighters kill them before hunting season starts. Last year a guy trespassed on anothers land and killed a big buck out of season.

The genius took the head to a taxidermy run by a game warden.

The wardens started watching the guy. The poacher subsequently got a big fine, confiscation of his new pickup truck and gun.

elkman06 · August 28, 2009, 09:02 AM

Unfortunately, being a western Rocky mountain state, Wyoming has become a long sought after goal with a lot of hunters. The Utah hunters in particular are infusing the west/southwest corner of the state each year. I really try not to generalize but I have yet to meet one who: A: has read the hunting manual thoroughly, or B: actually came here to hunt a trophy.
For the past 4 yrs I have watched them drive the State highways at sundown, shooting from the road, on anything that has antlers. Their camps are a mess,,etc. I truly wish they didn't come here. On the other hand, I have found that most of the California hunt camps in the same area tend to be well run. I've met a lot of them who were going home empty handed as they did not find an animal that met their "trophy" criteria. I realize that trophies tend to be subjective but I don't classify a two point shot from the road a "trophy".
elkman06

w_houle · August 28, 2009, 10:36 AM

I know it wasn't done for the meat, but I would rather try having the Fish and Game contact me about road kill than to make us all look bad.

davlandrum · August 28, 2009, 11:12 AM

Quote:

I know it wasn't done for the meat

Either it was done for the meat, or they have no idea what a trophy is - those are little racks.

But stupid is what stupid does.

Does Utah have a bigger problem, are they better at catching them, or is it just a fluke they have been getting more press recently?

bcarver · September 1, 2009, 02:42 PM

Poaching is not immoral. It is illegal. Wasting game is immoral.
Killing a deer either in season or out has nothing to do with morals.
Illegal means "against the law".
Immoral means "wrong".
For instance it is illegal to cheat on taxes.
It is immoral to cheat on your wife.
It is immoral and illegal to hit a pedestrian and not render aid.

I don't poach. But if a man or his family is hungry I would hold the light to help him.
Would that make me immoral?

SavageSniper · September 1, 2009, 09:10 PM

No Bcarver, that makes you a person with morals. Thanks to hard work and the grace of God putting food on my families table does not require a .22 and a flashlight. But there was a time.

Coverbuster · September 1, 2009, 09:20 PM

Poaching for food , I gotts no problem with , Its going to get worse just you watch .

Poaching for horns and thrill killing .........................should get ya a year in county .

August 25, 2009, 05:01 PM	#1
younggun20 Member Join Date: February 26, 2009 Posts: 33	More Utah Poachers http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=7676076 WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A call to Utah's Turn-in-a-Poacher hotline has resulted in a major poaching arrest in southwestern Utah earlier this month. Hurricane resident Mathew Steven Spendlove is accused of poaching seven buck deer in Washington County. Division of Wildlife Resources officers began investigating in November 2008 when a confidential informant called the hotline to report a deer that had been killed outside of hunting season. Their work on the case led them to Spendlove and eventually a warrant to search his home. Inside the home, officers found seven sets of deer antlers and photos on a cell phone, a camera and a computer that provided enough evidence for prosecutors to charge Spendlove with the crimes. A trial date has been set for Sept. 10. If Spendlove is found guilty, he could spend the next five years in jail, pay $13,000 in fines and pay $2,800 in restitution.

August 26, 2009, 10:21 AM	#7
Crankylove Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2008 Location: 8B ID Posts: 1,753	No wonder we couldnt fill our deer tags last year...........they are all being shot out of season. __________________ The answer to 1984 is 1776

August 26, 2009, 01:59 PM	#9
Yellowfin Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2007 Location: Lancaster Co, PA Posts: 2,311	I had some poached eggs this morning for breakfast. Yummy! __________________ Students for Concealed Carry on Campus http://www.concealedcampus.org "You can't stop insane people from doing insane things by passing insane laws--that's insane!" - Penn Jillette

August 26, 2009, 10:10 PM	#12
bwheasler Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2009 Location: Indianapolis In Posts: 108	Stupid as stupid does. These as the same #%&holes the steal from old women. These spineless slugs not worth the time of day. If starving, shooting a deer is againist the law, but a argueable case in anyones eyes. But this was pure ego and greed and like anything else it just take a few @!ckers like them to ruin it for the rest of us. If you police youself, then we don't need anyone else to police us. Right? Last edited by bwheasler; August 28, 2009 at 12:30 AM.

August 28, 2009, 09:02 AM	#16
elkman06 Senior Member Join Date: March 14, 2006 Location: Wyoming Posts: 885	Unfortunately, being a western Rocky mountain state, Wyoming has become a long sought after goal with a lot of hunters. The Utah hunters in particular are infusing the west/southwest corner of the state each year. I really try not to generalize but I have yet to meet one who: A: has read the hunting manual thoroughly, or B: actually came here to hunt a trophy. For the past 4 yrs I have watched them drive the State highways at sundown, shooting from the road, on anything that has antlers. Their camps are a mess,,etc. I truly wish they didn't come here. On the other hand, I have found that most of the California hunt camps in the same area tend to be well run. I've met a lot of them who were going home empty handed as they did not find an animal that met their "trophy" criteria. I realize that trophies tend to be subjective but I don't classify a two point shot from the road a "trophy". elkman06 __________________ "The right of the citizens to bear arms in the defense of themselves and of the state shall not be denied." Wyoming Constitution Article 1, Sec24 "Better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6"

August 25, 2009, 05:10 PM	#2
azredhawk44 Junior member Join Date: September 28, 2005 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 6,465	Wow. Aside from the whole "poaching is immoral" angle, the object lesson here is not to post your poached kills on intarwebz sites to brag about. And don't keep trophies. Shoot, eat, shovel, shut up. The state would have had no evidence if their showpiece evidence is largely trophy related.

August 25, 2009, 06:40 PM	#4
simonkenton Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2008 Posts: 891	Good work cops! Put the poaching pos in jail where he belongs.

August 25, 2009, 08:25 PM	#5
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	+1 simmonkenton. I have no use for a poacher and have witnessed, first hand, the distruction of quality game animals(especially deer) just for certain body parts. The rest left for the buzzards:barf:.

August 25, 2009, 11:34 PM	#6
LateNightFlight Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2007 Location: Central Missouri Posts: 552	Yes! Round up those poachers! Poaching doesn't seem to be much of a problem in my area that I'm aware of, but it sure was in California. The area I deer hunted just about had the bears cleaned out by Asian poachers who were taking only the gall bladders. And it was worse with abalone. We found a rare dive spot with easy accessibility where we could easily pull limits. We went back to the same spot for the next season opener and it was cleaned out. We were shocked, but later learned they had busted a group who was poaching for the black market, and they had focused on that area. The damage they did was irreparable - it will be centuries before that population returns to what it was, if ever. The divers who will drag into that location, dive and come up empty handed because of these thieves will be numerous. Poaching is not a victimless crime; it robs all of us.

August 26, 2009, 10:27 AM	#8
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 2,526	I notice he had antlers and pictures but the article didn't mention a freezer full of meat.

August 26, 2009, 02:44 PM	#10
ZeroJunk Senior Member Join Date: August 14, 2006 Location: Browns Summit NC Posts: 2,589	I am not going to break the game laws. But, if I did I would poach something better than those.

August 27, 2009, 09:30 AM	#13
srt 10 jimbo Senior Member Join Date: September 10, 2008 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 955	Poached eggs give me Gas.

August 27, 2009, 10:37 PM	#14
wyobohunter Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2008 Location: Back in Wyoming Posts: 1,125	I couldn't hardly hold it against somebody if they had to do it to feed the kids but, this is not the case here, I say throw the book at em'.

August 28, 2009, 10:36 AM	#17
w_houle Senior Member Join Date: March 29, 2007 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 1,391	I know it wasn't done for the meat, but I would rather try having the Fish and Game contact me about road kill than to make us all look bad. __________________ How could you have a slogan like "freedom is slavery" when the concept of freedom has been abolished?

September 1, 2009, 02:42 PM	#19
bcarver Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2007 Location: Jackson,Mississippi Posts: 838	immoral????? Poaching is not immoral. It is illegal. Wasting game is immoral. Killing a deer either in season or out has nothing to do with morals. Illegal means "against the law". Immoral means "wrong". For instance it is illegal to cheat on taxes. It is immoral to cheat on your wife. It is immoral and illegal to hit a pedestrian and not render aid. I don't poach. But if a man or his family is hungry I would hold the light to help him. Would that make me immoral?

September 1, 2009, 09:10 PM	#20
SavageSniper Senior Member Join Date: November 25, 2005 Location: Crawfordville, FL Posts: 494	No Bcarver, that makes you a person with morals. Thanks to hard work and the grace of God putting food on my families table does not require a .22 and a flashlight. But there was a time. __________________ This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights!

September 1, 2009, 09:20 PM	#21
Coverbuster Junior member Join Date: August 20, 2009 Posts: 32	Poaching for food , I gotts no problem with , Its going to get worse just you watch . Poaching for horns and thrill killing .........................should get ya a year in county .