Region 1

On Thursday, November 6th Officer Mitch Beatley received a call from the Virginia Beach Police Department about some subjects trespassing to hunt. After arriving on scene, locating and confronting the 3 violators, Officer Beatley ended up with a plethora of violations. In addition to the trespassing, the suspects did not have licenses/big game stamps, were not wearing blaze orange and had killed a doe and a buck illegally.

On Saturday, November 8, 2008, Officer Ken Williams was enroute to a trespassing hunter complaint call in Northumberland County when he encountered an erratic driver. The suspect vehicle was traveling only 4-5 mph, stopped in the highway and crossed the centerline. The vehicle pulled into an abandoned house and Officer Williams contacted the driver. The suspect was obviously intoxicated. After administering the PBT, the results were .22 BAC. The suspect was arrested for second offense DUI and felony habitual offender.

On Saturday, November 8, 2008 Officer Ken Williams received a complaint from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office about a hunter shooting at a deer from a vehicle on the road. A witness advised the officer that a truck crossed the center line, stopped in the ditch and then shot at a buck in a field. Only a partial license plate was obtained. With the assistance of DGIF dispatch, Officer Williams was able to locate the suspect vehicle, but the owner would not come to the door. Later that same evening Sgt. Goszka observed the vehicle traveling on the highway. After stopping and questioning the suspect he confessed to shooting from the road. Officer Williams will seek warrants for the appropriate charges.


Region 2

On 10/29/08 at approximately 4:10 PM, Officer Jessica Whirley received a call from the Cumberland County Sheriff's department concerning a shot fired from State Route 600 in Cumberland. The caller advised she had been following a gray Ford pickup for two miles when the truck pulled halfway off the road, stopped, and the passenger pulled a muzzleloader out the window and shot into the field. The caller was able to get a license plate number and there were two people in the vehicle. Officer Whirley called Officer Saunders for assistance and responded to the area. Officer Saunders interviewed the passenger while Officer Whirley inspected the field on ST. RT. 600. After nothing was found in the field and at the conclusion of the interview with the passenger, both officers went to the driver's home. Both the driver and passenger (father and son) admitted to being in the area, and stopping on the road. They said they were looking at the turkeys in the field but that they did not shoot. After another conversation with the caller, it was determined that she was able to identify the muzzleloader used, and was also willing to come to court. Four summons were issued. The passenger was charged with shooting from the vehicle and shooting from the highway. The driver was charged with improper stopping in the highway and conspire to shoot from the vehicle.

On 11/4/08 at approximately 3:30 PM, Officer Whirley received a call from a Cumberland County citizen stating they had blocked in a trespasser in on their property and wanted assistance. Officer Whirley arrived at the scene to find only the caller. The caller stated that the suspect was on a green four wheeler and had gone home. Officer Whirley went to the home of the suspect (a known game law offender). He took off on the four wheeler. The mother and step-father of the 26 year old agreed to bring him up to the sheriff's department when he returned. Approximately 30 minutes later, Officer Whirley received a call from the step-father saying the suspect was home. Officer Whirley returned to the residence and interviewed the suspect. The suspect admitted to being on the property and not having permission. He was charged with trespassing.

Region 3

On November 2, 2008, Conservation Police Officer James Brooks received a call of a possible vehicle accident involving a black bear. Officer Brooks responded to the Contrary section of Buchanan County. While en route Officer Brooks received a phone call stating witnesses observed a white male chasing a black bear up a state maintained road with a bow and arrow. Officer Brooks arrived on scene and found a subject stating "I shot the bear to put it out of its misery". Officer Brooks then interviewed other witnesses who advised the bear was just stunned by a grazing blow from the vehicle and would have lived if the subject had not shot the bear. Officer Brooks placed appropriate charges on the suspect for shooting a bear on Sunday, along with other charges.

On November 4, 2008, Conservation Police Officer James Brooks went to check a baited tree stand in the Bluefield section of Tazewell County. Officer Brooks had checked the tree stand in question on several occasions during the archery deer season with no success. After interviewing several witnesses in the area and gathering information regarding the baited tree stand, Officer Brooks located the son of the suspect in question. The son of the suspect gave Officer Brooks his father’s contact information. Officer Brooks contacted the suspect and arranged a meeting date for an interview. Officer Brooks met with the suspect and obtained a confession to hunting over a baited tree stand.

On October 31, 2008 Officer Harris concluded an investigation related to a subject illegally killing deer. After checking an area where there had been numerous complaints of this subject hunting Officer Harris encountered him driving down the road. The subject was identified and stopped for driving suspended. A subsequent search of his person and residence turned up marijuana and 9 sets of illegal deer antlers. The subject confessed to the closed season killing of several whitetail deer since September. Charges were placed and additional charges are pending upon the return of evidence sent to the lab for analysis.

On November 1, 2008 at around 0130, Officer Harris, while returning home noticed a vehicle sitting in the church parking lot where he attends church and decided to investigate. A subject was seen urinating in the parking lot and upon seeing the marked unit he jumped into his vehicle and began to leave the area. After stopping the vehicle a short distance later, the driver was found to be driving under the influence and was placed under arrest.

On Saturday, November 1, Senior Officers Pease and Billings identified 17 violations in three different counties. The officers checked a known baited location in Wythe County and discovered a husband and wife hunting over bait in separate locations with rifles. While attempting to locate the third member of their party the officers heard a rifle shot on the adjacent property. The officers soon located a female subject that had killed a 7 pt. buck with a .270 rifle. The deer was seized and awarded to a needy individual. The officers then took a call of an injured deer on the Wythe/Pulaski line and received information of a possible illegal deer. While leaving the scene of the call the officers located the suspect vehicle and began an investigation. The suspects were interviewed and were later charged with killing a buck in Pulaski County with a 30-30 rifle. Neither of the two suspects had any licenses. The deer was seized and donated to hunters for the hungry. Later in the day the officers went to a known baited area in Bland County and charged one man for putting bait out and another man for hunting over the bait.

Region 5

During the 2007/2008 hunting season Senior Conservation Police Officer Mark DiLuigi received a complaint from a neighboring property regarding excessive shooting in Loudoun County, VA. While DiLuigi was investigating this complaint he located three baited tree-stands. The bait was consistent with "sweet feed" for cattle/horses. DiLuigi and Officer Landers checked the property several times at end of 07/08 firearms season. During one check DiLuigi observed a subject operating an ATV, drinking a Budweiser, approach a stand and pour feed on the ground from a feed sack. In September 2008 DiLuigi and Landers returned to the property and found the stands were still being actively baited.

On 11/01/2008 at approx 0720 hrs of opening day muzzleloader season for deer, Landers and DiLuigi were on patrol in same area described above. The officers decided to dress in camouflage and operate out of a covert truck. The truck was parked on the side of a public road while the officers entered the woods.

DiLuigi approached a ladder style tree-stand that was approximately 80 yards in front of a pile of "sweet feed" bait. The stand was occupied by a white male dressed in camouflage coveralls holding a high powered rifle. Subject was a convicted felon. Upon detaining the felon and reaching the covert vehicle, a second subject hunting on the property approached on an ATV. While the officers were dealing with these two subjects, a third unrelated hunter decided he would investigate who was parked on the road encroaching upon his hunting property. The third hunter demanded to know what was going on. DiLuigi kindly encouraged his participation after observing a 12 gauge shotgun with scope carried by the hunter.

The following charges were placed, Poss. of firearm by felon, 2 - hunt out of season, operate ATV on public highway, operate ATV without helmet, knowingly hunt over a baited area

On 11/08/08 Officer Sanitra was monitoring a property that has had heavy trespassing problems. At approximately 6:05 a.m. a truck pulled onto the property and stopped alongside a hedge row, on the hilltop that overlooked the lower field. Once the vehicle stopped, Officer Sanitra walked to its location and concealed himself in the hedge row right behind the truck. With both front windows down, the driver of the vehicle utilized three different calling techniques (grunt, rattle bag, and bleat) in effort to attract deer. After fifteen minutes of calling Officer Sanitra established contact with the driver, at which time he discovered a cocked crossbow, with a bolt in the firing position, laying on the seat next to the driver. After the field interview the driver was charged with trespassing to hunt and attempting to take wildlife from a vehicle.

Was the one in Va. Beach named Mike(Speeddogs) Beach. Sounds like his M.O.

All them violations stand hunting and they giving dog hunters A hard time in the panhandle //

None of this sounds like work to me.

Heck, we pay to hunt and these guys have more fun hunting than we do and they get paid for it.

Thank you Mr Goszka for posting on this site. To me it shows the good attitude you have towards us as hound hunters. To share your reports with us lets us see that we are not always the target. Things may change Saturday morning ,but for now there are plenty of other "Dumb Crook News"items . Next week it will probably be me!!!

I really like the last one! Rattling and grunting from inside a vehicle with a crossbow? Shoulda gave that guy a breathalyzer too!