Posted on 08/30/2009 9:24:16 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
A capias has been issued for the arrest of Corpus Christi residents Raymond “Ace” Walker, Garratt W. Harris and Paul Isaac Bueno for allegedly killing nine deer on the Walker Ranch and dumping the deer in the Nueces River.
“The three men could have been charged with 27 Class A misdemeanors (3 counts times nine deer), but we decided not to ‘throw the book at them’ because they confessed,” said Clay Pipkin, Live Oak County game warden.
Walker, Harris and Bueno were charged with waste of game and hunting at night, both Class A misdemeanors, for allegedly killing nine deer on the evening of July 17. “They shot nine and only took back straps from two of them; that is why they are being charged with waste of game,” said Carlos Riojas, Live Oak County game warden. “They just shot them and threw them in the river.”
“A man that was jet skiing on the Nueces River near the Swinney Switch area was heading upriver, rounded a curve and saw a dead deer,” said Pipkin. “He knew something was wrong and he kept on exploring and counted nine dead deer, so he contacted the sheriff’s office,” Pipkin continued.
“Clay and I were together when we got the call,” said Riojas. “We called the skier and he told us where to find the deer.” The game wardens searched the area by boat and the banks by foot. They found the nine deer but could not find where on the banks the deer had been thrown from. They searched for 8-9 hours until about 6:30 p.m.; they were going to go home for the day when they spotted a small space and a little trail. Riojas walked up the trail and he found a campfire. At the campfire were two burned back straps, a cottontail rabbit, and a bird (unknown species). “We think they tried to cook the back strap and other game but it looks like they were not sure what they were doing,” said Riojas.
“We started looking around and found a blood trail down to the bank and found tracks. It had rained the night they were there and that made it easy to find the tracks,” Riojas continued.
“While we were looking for evidence we heard a dozer and went up to the operator. It just happened to be one of the ranch owners. He was very nice and drove us around for an hour but didn’t give us any information on who could have killed the deer,” Pipkin said. “He gave us his brother’s phone number and we contacted his brother. It took a whole day to track him down and get him to return our calls. The next day he offered to meet us at that ranch,” Pipkin said.
“I started looking at the family portraits and started asking questions about the different family members. I have a feeling he knew we had an idea that his grandson was involved,” continued Pipkin. The man gave Pipkin his son’s phone number, who in turn gave Pipkin his own son’s phone number in the Corpus Christi area.
“I called the son (ranch owner’s grandson) identified as Raymond “Ace” Walker and asked him if he had been in Live Oak County,” Pipkin stated. Walker allegedly said, “Yes.”
Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he had been at his grandfather’s ranch and he (Walker) allegedly said yes. Next Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he knew why he was calling and he allegedly answered in the affirmative. “So we are calling about the deer,” Pipkin said. Walker allegedly continued by saying “Yes”.
Pipkin said he told Walker he was going to send someone down to meet with him in Calallen. “Carlos and I decided to go to Calallen to met Ace (Walker) rather than send someone but we contacted some game wardens from the area. When we arrived in Calallen, Ace (Walker) was not readily available. At first he didn’t answer our calls and then he told us he had to run some (auto) parts and we would have to wait another hour. Another suspect, later identified as Garratt Harris, told us he was at the beach and couldn’t meet us. But the other game wardens were familiar with the area and we soon found Harris and Walker.”
“They basically lied about their whereabouts and deliberately tried to stall us because they were trying to get rid of evidence,” alleged Riojas. “We caught them in the process of swapping out tires from one vehicle to another.”
Walker and Harris had allegedly tried to wash the bed of an ATV and trailer that the wardens believed had been used to move the dead deer to the river. However, the bed still contained blood and shell casings, said Pipkin. “They tried to hide the ATV in an old Penske-type truck. The ATV had blue paint that had evidently blown-up on it with the fire. We photographed the evidence and escorted them to the Game Warden Regional Office and they gave statements.”
In addition to full confessions, Walker and Harris allegedly gave the game wardens information about a rifle and a pistol they used, plus directions to the storage facility where another gun was hidden. A few days later, another man identified as Paul Isaac Bueno was questioned by local game wardens and charged. The three work at an automobile auction warehouse in the Corpus Christi area.
Where are PETA and all those animal rights folks?
Honesty is the best policy?
They saved the county the expenses of a trial, and God knows how many man-hours. (and the possibility of losing the case outright)
They’re still going to get some lumps, and hopefully learn a lesson.
I’m comfortable with that judgement call.
Throw the books at the pond scum, and remove their rights to ever own a firearm again. In Virginia all of the guns and vehicles used in the killing would be the property of the state.
Yeah, something fishy about this story, where I’m from
they would have gotten slapped hard. Confiscation of all
vehicles and weapons used to start...
Nice. Why not seize their houses as well?
Pollution ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
in va everything is property of the state.
Clearly, these guys are too stupid to realize that if we have a couple more years of this administration, those deer would look mighty good in the stew pot. Seizing their property sounds like a good start. Poaching for food would have been a forgivable crime. Poaching for fun is not.
I’m thinking the Grandpa is a fine upstanding member of the community and kept those boys out of more serious trouble.
Probably some part close to having the punishment fit the crime.
Suppose he took his kid along, would you seize the kid?
Where do you draw the line?
He misused his life to kill a deer, do you take his life as well?
The State seizing any property for such crimes as this, strikes me as plenty fine reason to be having organized neck stretching parties with the legislators that wrote such laws as guests of honor.
Yep.
And you live in Kalefornia!?
/
Don’t be fooled by the noise that comes out of Californicationland.
There’s a rather huge swath down the central valley that is not at all libertarded. Problem is, we’re as much hostages to the dishonorable, disingenuous, no integrity having, no rule of law following DNC as the rest of the country.
Silly conservatives keep thinking that following the rules has inherent value and “high moral ground” means more than a handful of squat when dealing with this domestic enemy.
Folk are coming around though. The rage break, when it happens, is tending toward the spectacular.
But, yeah. Currently, we’re under siege conditions. That’s why many of the homes in many of the neighborhoods in many of the towns from Kern County to Fresno, are armed and stocked enough to withstand an epic zombie horde attack.
We had a game warden in the county and he would not arrest poachers that were killing deer to eat(unless they became excessive, and he was pretty liberal with that view), but would let them go. However, anyone killing a deer out of season, or at night in season, that killed just for the rack or for a few choice(backstrap comes to mind)cuts of meat were arrested and the book thrown at them.
These guys need to do some serious jail time and their hunting privileges suspended for ever, IMO.
For that you would murder him?
Interesting...
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