Bighorn Poaching Suspect Arrested

A Nampa man has been arrested on changes of killing a bighorn sheep during a closed season. Jake B. Fouts, 20, of Nampa, has been charged with shooting and killing a bighorn sheep ewe about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, February 21, just off the upper Reynolds Creek Road above Hemmingway Butte in Owyhee County. A witness to the incident was watching the same band of sheep when the ewe pitched over dead. The witness secured vehicle descriptions and license plate numbers from the suspect vehicles, then called the Owyhee County Sheriff's office. The sheriff's office quickly passed the word to Idaho Fish and Game. From opposite sides of the Reynolds Creek area, Fish and Game Officers Kurt Stieglitz and Craig Mickelson converged. Stieglitz stopped Fouts on Highway 45 just north of Walter's Ferry. After seizing several firearms, Stieglitz arrested Fouts, who was then booked into the Owyhee County jail. Mickelson and Owyhee County Sheriff Daryl Crandall recovered the dead bighorn ewe at the location described by the witness. The felony charge against Fouts carries a maximum fine of $50,000, a prison sentence of up to five years and a civil penalty of $1,500. A judge could also revoke Fouts' hunting privileges for one year to life.