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Federal officer gets 20 days for elk poaching
Animals left dead in no-hunt zone
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Monterey County Herald
Article Last Updated:08/24/2007 01:28:18 AM PDT
A federal police officer was sentenced to 20 days in Monterey County Jail on Thursday for poaching two tule elk from a protected area on Fort Hunter Liggett.
Sgt. John Paul Hutchins of Paso Robles was also fined more than $5,000 and placed on three years probation.
Hutchins, part of the police force at Fort Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, pleaded guilty in July to six misdemeanor counts for unlawfully killing the protected elk, one of them without a hunting tag, and then leaving them dead in the no-hunt zone near the tank firing range on the military installation.
Hutchins was not in court Thursday but was represented by his attorney, Stan Evans, who said his client did not know he was in a restricted area and that the kills were "an honest mistake."
Prosecutor Joe Buckalew dismissed the assertion, saying Hutchins knew the location of off-limit hunting zones because of his job and left the two elk to pursue a third before he was arrested.
According to state game warden John Foster, Hutchins was cited Dec. 27, 2006, after a state Fish and Game Department biologist discovered the dead elk and contacted Foster. The warden said he found tire tracks and footprints near the scene and began investigating who had received the 14 tags that were issued for that hunting period.
Foster learned that Hutchins was one of the few who had received the coveted tags and found his truck parked in another area. Nearby tire tracks and footprints matched those found near the elk, he said. He waited for Hutchins to return and confronted him.
"It was kind of one of those things where their head drops and you know you got 'em," he said of Hutchins, who admitted the kills.
Foster said Hutchins claimed he did not realize he was in a restricted zone when he spotted one of the elks and took a shot. Believing he'd hit the animal, which then moved into the brush, Hutchins told authorities, he moved closer to finish the kill.
Seeing an elk standing, he fired again, taking it down, Hutchins said. It was not until he approached the animal, he claimed, that he saw the first elk had been felled by his initial shot and that the next bullet took out a second animal.
Evans said Hutchins "panicked and left the scene" without tagging either of the elk.
Foster said he believes Hutchins intended to return and take his kill, but got "spooked" after he ran into a Fish and Game biologist and went to another area.
Terry Palmisano, senior biologist with the Fish and Game Department, said tule elk were once plentiful in California but were hunted to near extinction. By the late 1800s, she said, only about 20 elk remained on a private reserve in Kern County.
Through the efforts of that landowner and state agencies, Palmisano said, the species recovered and was eventually relocated in herds to 32 locations, including Fort Hunter Liggett. She said there are now about 3,000 tule elk in the state, including about 400 on the South County installation.
Foster said the elk were initially completely protected, but their population grew to the point that they were invading local watermelon farms and interfering with military operations. While hunting is now allowed in designated areas of the reservation, only 46 tags are issued each year, with a maximum of 14 in any of the four hunting periods.
Buckalew, the prosecutor, said the elk are intelligent animals that provide a challenging hunt and excellent meat.
"There are only 14 tags issued, so it's really a privilege to go out and hunt in that area of the county," he said.
Judge Timothy Roberts gave Hutchins until Nov. 9 to report to jail to allow him time to apply for alternative programs, such as home confinement.
It is unclear how his conviction will affect his position with the federal police force. Evans said his client was still employed as of Thursday. Calls to Amy Phillips, public information officer for the installation, were not returned. Officials in Atascadero and Fort Bragg confirmed that Hutchins previously worked in the police departments in those cities.
The 56-year-old is also a licensed real estate agent in Paso Robles. Tom Pool, spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate, said his department would be notified of the conviction by the Department of Justice and would investigate the case.
State law allows for suspension or revocation of a real estate license if a conviction is "substantially related" to the licensee's professional role. Pool said discipline and license revocations are "fairly common" as a result of misdemeanor convictions.
Virginia Hennessey can be reached at 753-6751 or vhennessey@montereyherald.com.
Animals left dead in no-hunt zone
By VIRGINIA HENNESSEY
Herald Salinas Bureau
Monterey County Herald
Article Last Updated:08/24/2007 01:28:18 AM PDT
A federal police officer was sentenced to 20 days in Monterey County Jail on Thursday for poaching two tule elk from a protected area on Fort Hunter Liggett.
Sgt. John Paul Hutchins of Paso Robles was also fined more than $5,000 and placed on three years probation.
Hutchins, part of the police force at Fort Hunter Liggett Military Reservation, pleaded guilty in July to six misdemeanor counts for unlawfully killing the protected elk, one of them without a hunting tag, and then leaving them dead in the no-hunt zone near the tank firing range on the military installation.
Hutchins was not in court Thursday but was represented by his attorney, Stan Evans, who said his client did not know he was in a restricted area and that the kills were "an honest mistake."
Prosecutor Joe Buckalew dismissed the assertion, saying Hutchins knew the location of off-limit hunting zones because of his job and left the two elk to pursue a third before he was arrested.
According to state game warden John Foster, Hutchins was cited Dec. 27, 2006, after a state Fish and Game Department biologist discovered the dead elk and contacted Foster. The warden said he found tire tracks and footprints near the scene and began investigating who had received the 14 tags that were issued for that hunting period.
Foster learned that Hutchins was one of the few who had received the coveted tags and found his truck parked in another area. Nearby tire tracks and footprints matched those found near the elk, he said. He waited for Hutchins to return and confronted him.
"It was kind of one of those things where their head drops and you know you got 'em," he said of Hutchins, who admitted the kills.
Foster said Hutchins claimed he did not realize he was in a restricted zone when he spotted one of the elks and took a shot. Believing he'd hit the animal, which then moved into the brush, Hutchins told authorities, he moved closer to finish the kill.
Seeing an elk standing, he fired again, taking it down, Hutchins said. It was not until he approached the animal, he claimed, that he saw the first elk had been felled by his initial shot and that the next bullet took out a second animal.
Evans said Hutchins "panicked and left the scene" without tagging either of the elk.
Foster said he believes Hutchins intended to return and take his kill, but got "spooked" after he ran into a Fish and Game biologist and went to another area.
Terry Palmisano, senior biologist with the Fish and Game Department, said tule elk were once plentiful in California but were hunted to near extinction. By the late 1800s, she said, only about 20 elk remained on a private reserve in Kern County.
Through the efforts of that landowner and state agencies, Palmisano said, the species recovered and was eventually relocated in herds to 32 locations, including Fort Hunter Liggett. She said there are now about 3,000 tule elk in the state, including about 400 on the South County installation.
Foster said the elk were initially completely protected, but their population grew to the point that they were invading local watermelon farms and interfering with military operations. While hunting is now allowed in designated areas of the reservation, only 46 tags are issued each year, with a maximum of 14 in any of the four hunting periods.
Buckalew, the prosecutor, said the elk are intelligent animals that provide a challenging hunt and excellent meat.
"There are only 14 tags issued, so it's really a privilege to go out and hunt in that area of the county," he said.
Judge Timothy Roberts gave Hutchins until Nov. 9 to report to jail to allow him time to apply for alternative programs, such as home confinement.
It is unclear how his conviction will affect his position with the federal police force. Evans said his client was still employed as of Thursday. Calls to Amy Phillips, public information officer for the installation, were not returned. Officials in Atascadero and Fort Bragg confirmed that Hutchins previously worked in the police departments in those cities.
The 56-year-old is also a licensed real estate agent in Paso Robles. Tom Pool, spokesman for the California Department of Real Estate, said his department would be notified of the conviction by the Department of Justice and would investigate the case.
State law allows for suspension or revocation of a real estate license if a conviction is "substantially related" to the licensee's professional role. Pool said discipline and license revocations are "fairly common" as a result of misdemeanor convictions.
Virginia Hennessey can be reached at 753-6751 or vhennessey@montereyherald.com.
