MDNR Poachers BUSTED!


jci63

Recommended Posts

Two DNR rangers charged with poaching in Oceana County

Muskegon - Two park rangers from the state Department of Natural Resources face poaching charges for killing deer on private property in Oceana County last fall.

Prosecutors say Alex Gossett, 41, a full-time park ranger at Muskegon State Park, and Brian Tunk, 30, a seasonal DNR park ranger, killed deer in November and December of 2007 in Claybanks Township.

The rangers' father-in-law, Philip Gooch, 61, also faces charges of possession of bucks over the limit and loaning kill tags to another hunter.

The three men live in the Mears area.

Prosecutors say Gossett posted photos of himself with a deer he illegally killed on an internal DNR website.

Another conservation officer spotted the photos and began investigating. Prosecutors say the officer uncovered the mens' violations of state hunting laws and other infractions.

The men have been formally charged in court. If convicted, they face jail time, fines and suspension of Michigan hunting privileged for up to three years.

www.wzzm13.com/news/regional/lakeshore_article.aspx?storyid=91173

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad they got caught. Hope they get the max penalty that the law can give them.

I'm sure they will William. At least in my neck of the woods when an LEO screws up, they tend to get a maximum sentence, even though regular Joes would get less, and usually do. Although I feel EVERYONE should get the max, unfortunately it doesn't seem to work that way. These guys have already paid dearly I'm sure with the loss of very profitable careers. How many factory workers or similar professions would lose their jobs for an EnCon violation?

These guys should be held to a high standard and punished severely.... but also fairly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder how strict they were enforcing the laws they broke?

It makes me think of deer camp 2 years ago. We camp at a Illinois DNR camp site along with several friends. An older guy "Otis" (he used to hunt but no more) always walks around the camp sites looking for a lengthy conversation to get involved in. A buddy of mine was camped next to me taking a nap in his camper when Otis happened by and thought he'd be nice and get my buddies smoldering fire going. Well he did and then left. The IDNR officer came driving around and saw the fire and no body watching it. He knocked on my buddies camper door and asked him why he had a fire going. He said he had put it out before taking a nap (not knowing that Otis came by). Without hesitation the IDNR officer wrote my buddy a 500.00 ticket.

It's a big laugh now when we see Otis coming, but if I ever saw that IDNR officer leaving a fire while he slept...:mad:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.