Trophy Mule Deer Poachers Enter Guilty Pleas

On December 22, Judge Lynn Brower of Bear Lake County Magistrate Court in the southeastern Idaho town of Montpelier sentenced two men for poaching a trophy mule deer in Bear Lake County. Fines and penalties totaled $1271 each. Joshua C. Christensen 21, of Montpelier, and Cody A. Christiansen 22, of Soda Springs, entered a guilty plea to killing a mule deer buck during a closed season. The arrest was made by Conservation Officer Blake Phillips of Montpelier. Acting on a tip that two individuals were bragging about killing a trophy mule deer, Phillips initiated an investigation. "Mule deer are extremely vulnerable to poaching during the winter months" says Phillips. "Unfortunately, too many poaching cases are not solved. I am currently looking for leads on the recent killing of a mature four-point buck that was shot and left to waste in Bear Lake County." Along with the $1271 in fines and penalties, each individual was sentenced to 30 days in jail (suspended) and revocation of all hunting, trapping and fishing privileges for three years. They will each be on two years of probation during which they must complete a remedial hunter safety course. They can have no association or accompany any other person while hunting or fishing for one year. The rifles used in the poaching incident were confiscated. "The trophy mule deer they poached had seven points on one antler and eight on the other, with an overall spread measuring 27 inches between the beams and exceptional antler girth. Using the Boone and Crockett scoring system, the antlers scored 184 points in the typical category and 220 in the non-typical", said Phillips. Under a recently enacted Idaho law, if a mule deer buck scores over 150 Boone and Crockett points, civil penalties are enhanced from $400 to $2000. The enhanced civil penalty was not applied in this case.