The buck just stopped with one Ohio deer poacher.
Christopher Alexander, a 28-year-old from Wilmington, Ohio, will spend 90 days in jail after he unlawfully harvested an 18-point white-tailed deer last year, according to a news release from the office of Ohio Republican Attorney General Dave Yost.
That sentence also comes with a hefty $43,000 fine to cover penalties, court costs and restitution.
“Hunting in Ohio is a time-honored tradition, and there is a proper way to be safe and successful,” Yost said in the release.
“When bad actors like these guys try to cheat the system, it ruins the reputation of Ohio’s respected sportsmen and women – I can’t stand for that,” the official added.
Alexander told wildlife officers after the deer was killed that he harvested the prized animal from land belonging to his sister, Kristina Alexander, but law enforcement learned that he actually killed the animal on private property 10 miles away from his sister’s land, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer.
The outlet noted that Alexander’s poaching extended beyond that 18-point deer.
He also “deceptively profited from the illegal deer taking, selling deer antlers and receiving payments totaling $20,000 from an antler collector, a hunting magazine and a company that sells deer products,” according to the Enquirer.
Alexander pleaded guilty two months ago to 14 charges, which include “one felony count each of theft by deception and tampering with evidence,” plus 12 misdemeanors such as “hunting violations, falsification, jacklighting and the sale of wildlife parts,” per Yost’s office.
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The $43,000 payment that Alexander must pay is the “largest restitution value for a single white-tailed deer in Ohio’s history,” according to a statement from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
That sum comes largely from the roughly $40,000 Alexander must provide to the Ohio Wildlife Fund.
Kristina Alexander was also charged as part of the poaching ring.
She pleaded guilty to two charges and was sentenced to one year of monitored time supervision, a suspended jail sentence of 60 days, and $1,000 in fines and restitution, Yost’s office added.
Two other individuals involved in the scheme, Corny Haunert and Zachary Haunert, also faced penalties.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said that they “would like to thank the wildlife officers and investigators who contributed to the case as well as its partners who assisted in reaching justice.”
This was indeed a necessary stroke of justice.
While there are instances of wildlife officials throwing the book at everyday hunters, this seems to be a case where they did manage to stop a notorious poacher.
Stewarding our natural resources is necessary, which means those who squander those resources should be confronted and face punishments that fit their crime.
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