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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 12, 2006 Oregon State Police troopers Jim Collom and Janelle McFarland show evidence seized in connection with a poaching ring in the Eagle Point area. The evidence will be used to educate the public on the effects of poaching. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Stopping the kill By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune A 21-year-old man who led an Eagle Point-area poaching ring that killed at least a half-dozen black-tailed deer will serve what authorities say is the longest known jail sentence for illegally killing deer in Southern Oregon. The case against Stephen Price, of White City, and his six-person band of poachers also will live on in a public tour displaying how illegal killing steals some of Oregon's best blacktails and harms herds. And among Oregon State Police officers who brought the group down, it will be remembered for how one risky play on Jan. 7 cracked the largest single poaching case here in at least 14 years. "At one point, we had to roll the dice in the case," said Trooper Jim Collom of OSP's Fish and Wildlife Division. "And it worked." The dice stopped Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court, where Price was sentenced to 70 days in the Jackson County Jail, 18 months' probation and fines after pleading guilty to four felony theft charges and three hunting violations dating from last fall. Advertisement "I'm not aware of any jail sentence this long on a (state-prosecuted) hunting case in Jackson County or anyplace else," said John Norton, the Jackson County deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case. "It's also a message to the community that this is serious and it will not be tolerated," Norton said. "You can poach and actually be a felon." Price is the last of five adults to accept guilty pleas to charges based on March indictments. Two juveniles also alleged to be part of the group have charges pending in juvenile court, Norton said. During last fall and winter, the group drove around at night, using spotlights to startle large bucks that they shot, leaving much of the meat to rot. The dead animals included a buck with 9-by-7-point antlers, large enough to be entered in trophy rifle-hunting record books. The poachers, many in their teens, videotaped some of their antics, which included stabbing dead animals and bragging about their near-capture by an OSP trooper after poaching a deer near Eagle Point last December. The group had been frustrating police since November, when Collom began investigating a string of unsolved nighttime poaching cases involving blacktails with immense sets of antlers. At the time, he expected a band of kids targeting ready-to-breed bucks, but Collom could not catch them. Collom caught his first break when an anonymous tipster in December fingered Price and co-defendant Garrett Bradshaw as two people involved in the illegal deer killing in the Lake Creek and Salt Creek areas near Eagle Point. Troopers twice set up "Scruffy" the decoy deer at those drainages in hopes of intercepting the poachers, Collom said. While the operations netted two other citations, they did not lead to suspected members of the ring, Collom said. Troopers made their break Jan. 7 during a scheme that Collom said was likely to solve or kill their case. Investigators dispatched troopers to every possible suspect in the case that morning except Price, while OSP Trooper Janelle McFarland staked out the White City residence Price shared with his girlfriend and co-defendant, Ashley Morgan, now 19 years old and his wife. The idea was to shake up the suspects in hopes they would call Price, who then might react in some manner that might lead them to evidence, Collom said. Sitting in a black OSP sedan sometimes used to intercept Interstate 5 speeders, McFarland was skeptical the plan would work as hatched, she recalled. "I didn't know if they would get a call and go," said McFarland, who has since retired. "It was really hard to get a good sight line on them. I didn't know if they would go behind me or in front of me. "And our cars aren't the best for undercover," she said. Then McFarland watched Price and Morgan get into Morgan's Honda Civic. McFarland followed the Civic to a residence in the 3800 block of Agate Road, where she watched them unload a grocery-store-sized bag. The next day, police returned to the Agate Road house, where a consent search revealed six guns, ammunition, cameras, videos and a bag containing 35 turkey beards in the attic crawl space. They also found a white plastic bag containing nine wrapped packages of deer meat in the freezer, court records show. The resident of the Agate Road house, identified in a police affidavit as Daniel Rogers, told police he had met Price through a friend, Seth Kirk, who became a co-defendant in this case, court papers show. At the time, Price said he needed to leave the items there because "he was getting into trouble," records show. "It was a scare tactic, and it worked," Collom said. That haul provided a bonanza of evidence that led to indictments and arrest warrants on the ring's seven members and the seizures of multiple guns and antlers. No charges were filed involving the turkey beards, Norton said. Norton said the cases were far more serious than most deer-poaching cases that generally involve crimes of opportunity. "They knew what they were doing," Norton said. "These were premeditated, deliberate sorts of crimes." Plea negotiations did not prove difficult, Norton said. "I got the impression that, once they were caught, everyone pretty much figured they had to take their medicine," Norton said. "I'll give them credit for that: They all seemed willing to take their punishment." Had the events of Jan. 7 not played out, troopers likely would have had few other alternatives than to try to scare Price and hope for some future break, Collom said. "We would have gone and interviewed Price and probably let the kids know that we knew what they were doing and to stop it," Collom said. Now that the ring is stopped, the antlers and other seized material is poised to star in a new display of what poachers can do while legitimate hunters are asleep, Collom said. The evidence also offers a stark view of how poaching can rip some of the best bucks from the herds' gene pools, Collom said. Collom said he plans to offer the display to local hunting groups and will present it at a booth during next year's Sportsmen's and Outdoor Recreation Show at the Jackson County Expo. "Some of these are record-book-type antlers," Collom said. "People will see these and say it's nice to get them out of (poachers') hands and into our hands." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] . Reporter Anita Burke contributed to this story. Poachers receive varied sentences: Five Jackson County adults pleaded guilty to charges involving the black-tailed deer poaching ring that operated around Eagle Point last fall. Stephen Price was sentenced to 70 days in the Jackson County Jail, 18 months' probation and fines of more than $3,700 after pleading guilty to four felony theft charges and three hunting violations dating from last fall. The felony theft charges stem from the illegal taking of four blacktails whose financial value in Oregon is set at $800 each — just above the $750 threshold for felony theft. Price is banned from hunting for five years and fishing for two years and will forfeit two rifles and scopes. During his probation, he cannot ride in a car where a gun is present. Garrett L. Bradshaw, 18, of Eagle Point pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hunting with an artificial light and the illegal taking of wildlife. He was sentenced to 18 months' probation and ordered to pay more than $1,100 in fines and restitution. His hunting privileges have been suspended for two years. As part of his plea agreement, Bradshaw also forfeited a rifle and must refrain from riding in vehicles where firearms are present while on probation. Seth Kirk, 20, of White City pleaded guilty to a first-degree theft charge, a felony. He was sentenced to 18 months' probation, had his hunting privileges suspended for two years and paid $900 in fines and restitution. He also forfeited a seized rifle. During his probation, Kirk must not ride in any vehicle in which a firearm is present. If Kirk successfully completes his probation, the conviction will be treated as a misdemeanor. Ashley D. Morgan, 19, of Eagle Point pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of aiding in a fish or wildlife violation. She was sentenced to two years' probation and ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and restitution as well as $385 court assessments and fees. She lost her hunting privileges for two years. During her probation, Morgan cannot ride in any vehicle in which a firearm is present. Timothy L. White, 21, of Talent pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of waste of wildlife. He was sentenced to one day in jail, placed on probation for two years and ordered to pay $107 in restitution and court assessments. He also lost his hunting privileges for two years. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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