WFF Enforcement Helps Gain Guilty Pleas in Night Hunting Case

After that initial discovery, one officer found a rifle bolt and another officer found the butt stock of a rifle.

"We couldn't find the rest of the weapons, but a landowner called the sheriff's department and said, 'Hey, I've got what y'all were looking for last night,'" Elrod said. "I've got these weapons. We got out there, and he had recovered one full long gun and the rest of the other rifle. The serial numbers matched the bolt and the gun."

WFF was able to obtain a search warrant.

"After executing the search warrant, we found narcotics and ammunition at the residence. He was a convicted felon and not allowed to have guns," Elrod said. "The task force arrested him on narcotics and firearms-related charges, and the judge revoked his bond."

After further investigation, the multiple-agency task force discovered that the Toyota Tundra owned by the perpetrator was parked at another residence. The truck was impounded and a warrant was obtained to search the vehicle.

"We recovered seven additional firearms, 15 deer racks and ammunition," Elrod said. "Several of those deer were freshly harvested. This turned into a very large investigation."

Working with Jackson County Assistant District Attorney Krystina Jackson and DA Jason Pierce, prosecutors were able to obtain guilty pleas for several offenses, including hunting at night, hunting without landowner permission, and felony eluding.

"The Jackson County DA's office was very helpful, and Krystina went out of her way to help with our conservation issues," Elrod said. "I actually nominated Krystina for the AWF (Alabama Wildlife Federation) Governor's Conservation Achievement Award for judicial, and she won it. She worked with us day and night on these search warrants. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department also assisted with the search warrants. This would have not been possible without their assistance."

Elrod said the community in northeast Alabama also stepped up and reached out with information and thanked WFF officers for catching the perpetrator.

"I supervise a very good group of officers in four counties," he said. "I tell everybody what we have, and everybody just shows up. Had it not been for Officer Simpson, we wouldn't have been able to catch the guy. He was instrumental in the arrest."

Michael Weathers, WFF's Chief of Enforcement, applauded the cooperation among agencies to be able to catch the perpetrator.

"Operations like this are excellent examples of the partnerships that have formed between state, local and federal law enforcement officers," Weathers said. "When we have particularly egregious natural resources violations like those that occurred in this case, multiple agencies across all levels of law enforcement coming together to prosecute resource violators is beneficial to all involved.

"It serves to remind everyone about the importance of protecting the natural resource wealth jointly owned by all Alabamians."

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