- Unlawfully killing one 6X6 bull elk by shooting it without a permit or tag and by shooting it at night with the aid of artificial light.
- Unlawfully killing one 2X2 mule deer by shooting it at night with the aid of artificial light and before the deer season opened.
- Unlawfully killing one 4X4 mule deer by shooting it at night with the aid of artificial light.
- Unlawfully killing one 4X5 mule deer by shooting it at night with the aid of artificial light and before the deer season opened.
- Unlawfully killing one doe mule deer.
- Unlawfully killing three antelope without tags one of which was killed at night.
- Wasting of one 6X6 bull elk, one 4X4 mule deer, and three antelope.
Illegally Killed Elk Leads to Large Investigation near Arco
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In the early morning hours of October 20, senior Idaho Department of Fish and Game conservation officer Dave Silcock of Mackay received a call from a hunter who stated that he had found a dead elk in a gravel pit beside a hayfield near Ram's Horn Canyon. The hunter said that the animal had been shot, its head removed and the meat left to rot. Acting on this tip, officer Silcock called conservation officer Brian Marek of Arco and together they drove to the gravel pit to investigate the hunter's information.
A thorough survey of the gravel pit and adjacent hayfield revealed that the elk had been shot while standing in the hayfield. The animal was wounded by a shot to the spine and stabbed to death in the chest with a knife. Vehicle tracks and drag marks revealed how the dead elk was dragged into the gravel pit where the head was removed and taken. The discovery of this elk marked the uncovering of what appears to be one of the worst poaching cases to have occurred in the Big Lost River Valley in many years. After 28 days of investigation, eight unrelated individuals had been found to have taken part in several different poaching events throughout the area.
Arrested on November 15, on one felony complaint in connection with this investigation was Damian Coon, 18, of Moore, Idaho. Coon has been charged with twelve elements in the Seventh Judicial District Court in Butte County. These charges include: