“As best as we could determine, they were shooting deer for the thrill of it.”
HAMILTON – Three Hamilton men have forfeited their hunting privileges after being
Photo Copyright Jim Robertson
found guilty of killing deer for the thrill of it last year.
One defendant told investigators the men shot as many as 25 deer, but wardens were only able to locate nine, said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks warden Lou Royce.
“We really don’t have a clue exactly how many deer they shot,” Royce said. “One defendant said they shot between 20 and 25 deer with a .22. The deer could have run off and died in the woods or been hauled off by predators. There could still be deer out there with bullets in them.”
The case began a little more than a year ago after a landowner off the Westside Road near Hamilton called to report a poaching case.
Royce said the property owner and his son had heard a shot after dark near their home. A few minutes later, they saw headlights shine on their front yard to illuminate a deer. A moment later, a shot rang out and the deer dropped.
“The shot was made right toward the building,” Royce said.
The property owner’s son chased after the vehicle and was able to obtain a license number.
“That was our big break in the case,” Royce said.
Royce said a newspaper article in the Ravalli Republic about the poaching also led investigators to several carcasses.
“The news article helped,” he said. “People told us about a number of different deer after they had read it.”
Ravalli County Justice Jim Bailey handled all of the cases.
Gabe Rinehart, 19, pleaded guilty in August to 18 misdemeanor citations that included hunting without a license, hunting after dark, using a spotlight, as well as others.
Rinehart was fined $7,580 and ordered to pay $700 in restitution to FWP. He was sentenced to 1,980 days in jail, with all but two suspended.
Rinehart also lost hunting privileges for 20 years, but may apply with the court for reinstatement after five years.
Nicholas Cropp, 19, was found guilty of eight citations in a jury trial on Oct. 24.
Cropp was required to serve 15 days of his 1,100-day sentence in jail. He was ordered to pay $4,569 in fines, $639 in jury fees, and $800 in restitution. Cropp also forfeited a .270-caliber Savage bolt-action rifle.
Cropp lost his hunting privileges for 10 years.
Jedidiah Schmitt, 19, was sentenced on Nov. 7 for two citations for illegally killing one deer following a bench trial.
He was required to pay $1,370 in fines and $300 in restitution. Schmitt lost hunting privileges for six years. He was also sentenced to 360 days in jail, with all of it suspended.
“They later claimed that they were going to go back and get the meat, but they never did,” Royce said. “As best as we could determine, they were shooting deer for the thrill of it.”
Exposing the Big Game 
There was no punishment here. For what do these yokels care of hunting privileges?
They should never have had hunting “privileges,” but they do deserve punishment.
You’re absolutely correct, and I agree. My point was only that restrictions do not institute compliance. And the courts, by dropping the sentencing has, in essence, stated their approval, “You boys go on now, just be a little more careful in the future, ya hear?”
We’re not seeing much justice for wildlife offenses in Montana. Sort of like the wolf hunter who shot and killed a recreationists dog and wasn’t charged with anything.
when we can live healthy lives on a plant-based diet, the only motive to kill a deer is for the thrill of it
Yep
And they thought it was a video game … No boys, wrong !
It’s a muderous ignorant reality you perpetuate .. Stop waging war on our wildlife … Dead is dead
and the deer that get away with bullets in them suffer.
By my count these miscreants will serve a cumulative total of 19 days in jail for their misdeeds; that’s less than a day for every deer they killed or cruelly wounded. It’s the same kind of justice that used to be handed-out in Mississippi for lynching African-Americans a century ago. A .22 caliber bullet in the back of each of their necks would be a far more appropriate punishment.