The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has issued 31 summonses to five different people and seized four deer as part of a monthslong poaching investigation started in November 2024.
One suspect is facing 23 charges that include night hunting, Sunday hunting, hunting without a license, hunting over bait, theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, criminal trespass, shooting from a motor vehicle, littering of offal, unlawful possession of wild animals and illegal transportation of a wild animal, according to DIF&W officials.
The suspect, who has not been named, was arrested in Somerset County. When officials attempted to place the person under arrest, they initially resisted arrest and barricaded themselves in a room before being taken into custody.
While officials were executing the search warrant for the suspect’s arrest, a deer that was later determined to have been shot at night over bait on a Sunday was found hanging in the garage. Game wardens also learned that the suspect had allegedly been stealing and selling hunting equipment, including treestands and game cameras, under a false name.
Maine wardens recovered treestands and game cameras and multiple firearms and crossbows during the arrest. Officials were later able to determine that some of the gear had allegedly been stolen from the Unity, Palmyra and Corinna areas.
During a following investigation, officials believed that the suspect had poached a total of three deer, shooting two during the nighttime and one over bait. The meat of one deer had been discarded in a local stream in trash bags and plastic totes.
The suspect, who had since been released after his initial arrest, was arrested a second time after the ongoing investigation determined new information about the illegal activity, and booked into the Somerset County Jail.
Four other suspects were interviewed during the course of the investigation, and were issued a total of eight summonses. Those include theft by unauthorized taking or transfer, night hunting, exceeding the bag limit on deer and placing bait to entice deer.
Wardens also seized another deer after it was killed by a poacher who was already tagged out and falsely registered by another person illegally.
In total, 31 summonses were issued across five different poaching suspects, four deer were seized and thousands of dollars worth of hunting equipment was returned to several different hunters.
The initial suspect facing 23 summonses failed to appear in court on the civil offenses and has been issued $2,300 in fines, officials said. Criminal charges are still pending.
Anyone suspecting illegal outdoors activity related to Maine’s wildlife and natural resources can anonymously contact Maine’s Operation Game Thief by calling 1-800-253-7887.
