Remember the Father & Son Poachers?

[Ard]

Remember me posting a link to the story about a father & son team who traveled out to Ester Island in Prince William Sound to kill a bear? Just as an update I have another link to the original story linked below.

Here's the original article about the crime > Article form last year


Here's something else to understand about this crime and the perpetrators. To reach the Island in question you need a 'Blue Water Boat' this crime was not committed by poor people operating from a Jon Boat with a used 5 hp motor. Blue water boats are in the 26 foot class deep V bottoms with good navigation instruments aboard. In other words these 2 look like regular upstanding well to do outdoor types. BTW I don't have a blue water boat because of the expense.

I personally abhor people like them and wouldn't urinate on either if they were on fire. I can't begin to explain how I feel about people who prey on the most defenseless on the planet and I mean those who hurt all defenseless creatures including human beings. These people are cowards of the most terrible kind and are not safe to walk among our society. Violent lawless persons with no respect for life. If it's OK to do that to some bears then do you want them hanging around with your kids?

Ok I'm done, and no I'm not going to sneak up on them with a ball bat because that would only make me as bad as them but if one of them ask me for it I'd be happy to oblige.

Here's the verdict and sentencing > Wildlife Criminals Sentenced

 

[troutman75]

They don’t have a blue water boat anymore either if I understood the sentencing correctly. A pretty good outcome with both hefty fines, jailtime and loss of privileges (even with the kid getting soft treatment).

I’d still loan you my bat.

 

[spm]

Sentence was too light. Should have been more jail time for the father and the son should have received some jail time. I have nothing but contempt for people like this.

steve

 

[k_e_v]

Obviously those idiots don't work in the same kind of business i do........we tell all our people to assume they are on camera at all times, inside or outside. Amazing and amusing they were taken down this way.
I hope it hurts a lot

 

[denver1911]

Dang Ard. Remind me to never fish with you because I might want to keep a couple .. i.e. prey on the defenseless creatures. And if you’ve ever heard that I am a hunter .. please forget that part if you ever see me and I’m on fire. The deer I may or may not have killed certainly were defenseless against me.

 

[tcorfey]

Does the punishment fit the crime well the guy blatantly disregarded several laws and he knew the law and tried to cover his tracks so I doubt this will change his attitude, just a total scumbag, will it change the attitude of the son, probably not. But it was more than a slap on the wrist so they will be more careful next time. I assume losing hunting privileges will not stop these persons from hunting they will just be more careful about it. Courts can only do so much and I think everything the courts could do they did.

 

[Ard]

Dang Ard. Remind me to never fish with you because I might want to keep a couple .. i.e. prey on the defenseless creatures. And if you’ve ever heard that I am a hunter .. please forget that part if you ever see me and I’m on fire. The deer I may or may not have killed certainly were defenseless against me.

People would be very wrong to assume that I am a tree hugging granola crunching greenie who shudders at the thought of blood shed. I have a long history of fair chase hunting for big game animals and small game as well. What I am not is a coward or an abuser of wildlife for any reason never have never would.

This sad story has nothing to do with hunting and if you believe it did then I'd suggest going back and rereading the original article which describes the alleged crime. It was not bear season. If it were bear season the area was closed to hunting for bears. They discovered a den while scouting for God knows what and returned a week later with game bags and firearms with intent to poach a bear while it was hibernating in a den. When the son shot the adult bear a pair of cubs began to whine. The father then shot the cubs who were also in a den site.

If that sounds like hunting to you then it is quite possible that you and I wouldn't get along well.

As far as keeping fish, our salmon stocks are in such bad shape I would point toward commercial caught fish at market because they are already dead. The few surviving adults that are returning to try to spawn are being protected at this time by closures of fishing seasons for threatened species in my area. That is why I don't keep fish any longer and run a C&R guide service. When I cook salmon for guests it is commercial salmon that were already dead when they came into my possession. There just aren't enough left to warrant killing them.


When I used the word defenseless, I was hoping a reader could see that I was implying women, children, and elderly people victimized by rogue people just like the subjects of the articles. Defenseless would also include unarmed citizens who are murdered by people who go on killing sprees and take whoever may cross their paths. In no way was I focusing my remarks as an anti hunting statement.

Hope that helps clear up what I said

 

[plecain]

I certainly didn't take your post as an anti-hunting comment.
I'm in the got-off-light camp with regard to these two...what's the word I want...criminals, I guess.

 

[Lewis Chessman]

Thanks for updating on this, Ard, I remember it well from the time. What they did was unfathomably low.

 

[karstopo]

The father in question certainly would appear to be a total creep and I’m glad he’s being punished as he has been for his heartless and criminal actions. Hunter, he is most certainly not. Poacher, game thief, liar, sneak, terrible example for his son, he most certainly is. I don’t know if the punishment fits the crime or what is even within the sentencing guidelines for his particular offenses. Months is jail would most likely be hard on someone like the offendant if he had never been incarcerated. There seems to be some people out there that think they can do anything they want to to animals and have some twisted justification for doing so and he might be one of those people. Maybe the punishment he received will turn his life around and realize the errors he’s made, of that we can hope.

The son being 18 certainly appears to have gotten off lightly. He is an adult by any legal definition I know of. Maybe the sentence he received reflected some thought about having such a dad and whatever influence that might have had on the son. I wasn’t in the courtroom and have no idea about what the son’s makeup is all about but whoever did the sentencing, judge or jury, must have had some reasonable ideas about the circumstances.

I’m not sure if the dad appearing to be affluent ( not that having a 26’ power boat is a sign of affluence as tons of folks have something similar and owe more on the boats than they personally are financially worth) has much to do with it. I guess it takes away any supposed and fallacious justification that the offender might have had in his mind such as trying to put food on the table or get a valuable hide to sell. Or maybe that was his idea, shoot the bear, sell the hide, let’s pay off this expensive boat. Poor, rich, in between, there’s no excuse for what they did, especially the father.

 

[Ard]

I’m not sure if the dad appearing to be affluent ( not that having a 26’ power boat is a sign of affluence as tons of folks have something similar and owe more on the boats than they personally are financially worth) has much to do with it. I guess it takes away any supposed and fallacious justification that the offender might have had in his mind such as trying to put food on the table or get a valuable hide to sell. Or maybe that was his idea, shoot the bear, sell the hide, let’s pay off this expensive boat. Poor, rich, in between, there’s no excuse for what they did, especially the father.

That is exactly why I mentioned the need for an acceptable boat before you can even go out on the Sound. If I were mad I could run to the Islands in my ATEC on a perfectly calm sea but would never try that. I made mention of the boat because here in Alaska it costs a lot of money to get to remote places. The claim that it is subsistence hunting when you have to travel from Anchorage (for instance) to Prince William Sound to do the hunt is a false claim. I think of the people who take an RV and a pair of 4 wheelers down to Kenai to do dip netting because they need 75 or 100 sockeyes for food. That party is about over too I believe with last years crash of Kenai Sockeye numbers the future don't look good if you bought that RV just to go dip net

 

[flytie09]

Ard,

This is a tragic story of a father and son pair that should serve as a lesson to everyone. Know the laws and assume you are being recorded at all times. These guys got off easy in my mind.....but will be a stinging reminder for these two for quite a while.

On an unrelated note.....Right or wrong assumption on my part, but I know Alaska as a subsistence hunting and fishing state. For curiosity sake, what would you say is the % of families that hunt and/or fish to sustain food for their families. How will the salmon closures effect the folks in AK? Are people becoming nervous that this may be a long term cycle with serious implications?

Thanks

ft09- Mike

 

[mcnerney]

Wow, this is such a tragic story I have a hard time dealing with scum bags like this.

 

[Ard]

Hi Larry,

This was just the follow up, I had posted the original article back in early August 2018 when the arrest and charges were made public.

I am still watching and waiting to see what became of the guys who were caught with the 85 or 90 salmon they had netted from Cottonwood Creek right close to our home here. That's the one that stopped me from making the Small Stream Tactics video because there was way too much Law Enforcement attention on the creek after the poaching incident.

When I find out what the sentences are for that I'll post the update. It may be a complex thing because 2 of the 4 were from out of state and I think one was a Russian, no kidding on that.

 

[ia_trouter]

Dang Ard. Remind me to never fish with you because I might want to keep a couple .. i.e. prey on the defenseless creatures. And if you’ve ever heard that I am a hunter .. please forget that part if you ever see me and I’m on fire. The deer I may or may not have killed certainly were defenseless against me.

I think you missed the obvious anti-poaching message. IMO it's OK to get a little emotional about it if you care about the resource. (which I am confident you do too) I know Ard pretty well. He may not admit it, but he likely would indeed pizz on them if they were on fire, but they sure would not enjoy the stern lecture they received during the ride to the burn unit. This stuff ticks him off It angers me as well. I haven't spent quite a month there and already observed my fair share of AK poaching. Crowds in hot spots or not, the state is still the wild west of illegal fishing.

 

[dharkin]

They should have lost their hunting privileges for life IMO. The son was a minor at the time of the crime and that's probably why his sentence was so light. Remember this too, most people don't get caught the first time they commit a crime.

 

[Meadowlark]

Seems like a light sentence to me. At a minimum, both should have a lifetime ban on hunting in Alaska, confiscation of their stuff, and significant jail time.

Community service, LOL, isn't much of a deterrent. I hate poachers of all types.

 

[luj333]

Sentence should have been much heavier for these scumbags

 

[Ard]

Seems like a light sentence to me. At a minimum, both should have a lifetime ban on hunting in Alaska, confiscation of their stuff, and significant jail time.

Community service, LOL, isn't much of a deterrent. I hate poachers of all types.

I agree that the forfeiture of legal hunting privileges should have been a lifetime ban. The fines and loss of gear along with the 90 days (if he really has to serve them) seems proper to me. But allowing these people to continue to legally purchase - carry firearms seems misguided since the crime involved the use of firearms. Millions of Americans are prohibited from purchase or carry of firearms for crimes that did not involve the use of firearms. These people seem to have displayed wanton disrespect for law and committed a rather violent crime while in possession of and using guns to commit the crime itself. That part does not seem to be a good judgment.

 

[ia_trouter]

Millions of Americans are prohibited from purchase or carry of firearms for crimes that did not involve the use of firearms. ..

Yup, I've had a couple friends that can't legally hunt or even target shoot 20 years later in life because they did something stupid when they were 19, and got a felony that did not involve anything like violence.