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So called "Guides" busted in New Albany

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
Illegal Hunting Guide Receives Multiple Convictions
JAN
23
Written by: ODNR Division of Wildlife
1/23/2013
For Immediate Release
Jan. 22, 2013

COLUMBUS, OH - Three individuals from New Albany received prison time, fines and hunting license suspensions for operating an illegal hunting guide service during a two-year investigation, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The men were prosecuted by Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather B. Robinson and sentenced in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas by Judge Charles A. Schneider on Jan 16.

Scott J. Walsh of New Albany advertised himself as a hunting guide, selling multi-day hunts ranging from $250 to $1,200. He lured people in by claiming to own and/or have permission to hunt on 1,600 acres of prime deer hunting property located in the New Albany area. In reality, Walsh owned no property and only had permission to hunt on 15 acres of land. He provided his clients with photographs of trophy white-tailed deer he himself had poached from the area.

In January 2010, the ODNR Division of Wildlife was contacted by a concerned citizen advising Walsh was engaging in illegal hunting activities. Investigators quickly recognized the name, as the ODNR Division of Wildlife had documented more than 30 complaints from 1990 to 2010 pertaining to Walsh violating Ohio’s wildlife laws.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife launched a two year investigation and discovered that from the dates of November 2007 through January 2010, Walsh had guided at least 20 hunters from Ohio, Vermont, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire on properties owned by 40 different families in the New Albany area. At least nine deer were taken during the two-year period. Walsh assured his clients he had permission to hunt on the various properties. It was later confirmed Walsh did not have permission to hunt and/or guide paying clients on any of the properties and made verbal threats to property owners when confronted. Walsh’s two accomplices who assisted him were his son, Justin Walsh and Steve Clemons.

In February 2010 multiple search warrants were executed on the residences, vehicles and storage units of Scott Walsh and Steve Clemons. Numerous trophy white-tailed deer mounts were seized as well as Scott Walsh’s truck and ATV.

Multiple felony and misdemeanor violations were documented during the investigation and included: discharging a firearm near a premises, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, having weapons under disability, hunting without permission, failing to wear hunter orange, no hunting license, no deer permit, possession of drugs and jacklighting.

Anyone observing or suspecting that wildlife violations are occurring may report illegal activity by calling the TIP hotline toll free at 800-POACHER.

Defendants, charges and sentences are:

Scott J. Walsh, 55, of New Albany was convicted of one count of discharging a firearm near a premises (third degree felony), one count of attempted discharge of a firearm near a premises (fourth degree felony), one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony), one count of wildlife trafficking (third degree misdemeanor) and one count of having weapons under disability (third degree felony). He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and after the defendant is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of an additional 30 months in prison. He was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and may not possess firearms. His hunting rights were suspended for five years. He was also ordered to forfeit his vehicle and ATV, which were both used in the commission of these crimes. All white-tailed deer mounts were also forfeited.

Justin S. Walsh, 23, of New Albany was convicted of one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony) and one count of hunting without permission (third degree misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 30 days in jail. After the defendant’s release, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of 12 months in prison. He was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000 and may not possess firearms; his hunting rights were suspended for a period of five years.

Steven A. Clemons, 48, of New Albany was convicted of one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony) and one count of hunting without permission (third degree misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and after the defendant’s release, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of 12 months in prison. He was ordered to pay a fine of $500 and restitution in the amount of $3,000. He may not possess any firearms, and his hunting rights were suspended for a period of five years.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.com.

- 30 -

For more information, contact:
Karen Norris, ODNR Division of Wildlife
614-644-3925
Matt Eiselstein, ODNR Office of Communications
614-265-6860

Trackback Print
Location: Blogs Statewide Wildlife News
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Thanks for sharing Curran. I agree with Huck. Glad to see some dirtbags get busted. This is the crap that makes it hard for the rest of us to gain access to land.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
I guess my question is they have had numerous complaints and seems that they were never acted on dating back too 1990 and why would it take 2 years too investigate all this??? I guess I should just be glad they are no longer guiding.....
 

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,381
193
North Central Ohio
Illegal Hunting Guide Receives Multiple Convictions
JAN
23
Written by: ODNR Division of Wildlife
1/23/2013
For Immediate Release
Jan. 22, 2013

COLUMBUS, OH - Three individuals from New Albany received prison time, fines and hunting license suspensions for operating an illegal hunting guide service during a two-year investigation, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). The men were prosecuted by Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather B. Robinson and sentenced in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas by Judge Charles A. Schneider on Jan 16.

Scott J. Walsh of New Albany advertised himself as a hunting guide, selling multi-day hunts ranging from $250 to $1,200. He lured people in by claiming to own and/or have permission to hunt on 1,600 acres of prime deer hunting property located in the New Albany area. In reality, Walsh owned no property and only had permission to hunt on 15 acres of land. He provided his clients with photographs of trophy white-tailed deer he himself had poached from the area.
In January 2010, the ODNR Division of Wildlife was contacted by a concerned citizen advising Walsh was engaging in illegal hunting activities. Investigators quickly recognized the name, as the ODNR Division of Wildlife had documented more than 30 complaints from 1990 to 2010 pertaining to Walsh violating Ohio’s wildlife laws.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife launched a two year investigation and discovered that from the dates of November 2007 through January 2010, Walsh had guided at least 20 hunters from Ohio, Vermont, Texas, Michigan and New Hampshire on properties owned by 40 different families in the New Albany area. At least nine deer were taken during the two-year period. Walsh assured his clients he had permission to hunt on the various properties. It was later confirmed Walsh did not have permission to hunt and/or guide paying clients on any of the properties and made verbal threats to property owners when confronted. Walsh’s two accomplices who assisted him were his son, Justin Walsh and Steve Clemons.

In February 2010 multiple search warrants were executed on the residences, vehicles and storage units of Scott Walsh and Steve Clemons. Numerous trophy white-tailed deer mounts were seized as well as Scott Walsh’s truck and ATV.

Multiple felony and misdemeanor violations were documented during the investigation and included: discharging a firearm near a premises, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, having weapons under disability, hunting without permission, failing to wear hunter orange, no hunting license, no deer permit, possession of drugs and jacklighting.

Anyone observing or suspecting that wildlife violations are occurring may report illegal activity by calling the TIP hotline toll free at 800-POACHER.

Defendants, charges and sentences are:

Scott J. Walsh, 55, of New Albany was convicted of one count of discharging a firearm near a premises (third degree felony), one count of attempted discharge of a firearm near a premises (fourth degree felony), one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony), one count of wildlife trafficking (third degree misdemeanor) and one count of having weapons under disability (third degree felony). He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, and after the defendant is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of an additional 30 months in prison. He was ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution and may not possess firearms. His hunting rights were suspended for five years. He was also ordered to forfeit his vehicle and ATV, which were both used in the commission of these crimes. All white-tailed deer mounts were also forfeited.

Justin S. Walsh, 23, of New Albany was convicted of one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony) and one count of hunting without permission (third degree misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 30 days in jail. After the defendant’s release, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of 12 months in prison. He was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000 and may not possess firearms; his hunting rights were suspended for a period of five years.

Steven A. Clemons, 48, of New Albany was convicted of one count of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle (fourth degree felony) and one count of hunting without permission (third degree misdemeanor). He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and after the defendant’s release, he will be on supervised release for five years. Any violation of supervised release will result in imposition of 12 months in prison. He was ordered to pay a fine of $500 and restitution in the amount of $3,000. He may not possess any firearms, and his hunting rights were suspended for a period of five years.

ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.com.

- 30 -

For more information, contact:
Karen Norris, ODNR Division of Wildlife
614-644-3925
Matt Eiselstein, ODNR Office of Communications
614-265-6860

Trackback Print
Location: Blogs Statewide Wildlife News

Not saying it isn't good to slap these people around but, come on. They already had a lot of complaints about the guy and still took 2 years to slap his hands. I have no idea of the value of his truck or ATV but I bet they are not brand new lol. No hunting license for 5 years...pretty sure he didn't have one to commit the crimes to start with. Not allowed to have firearms, again, pretty sure he wasn't to have them to begin with. Had clients kill 9 bucks and who knows how many he had poached over the last 3-4 years to have in his adds. Not to mention screwing around on property he did not have the right or permission to be on of 40 families.

Like I said, Glad to see he got something out of it but this is not enough IMO. No wonder the ODNR had to put in 2 years of work to even make it worth while to prosecute. Doubt they even covered the cost of the WO investigators let alone court costs at the end of the day.

With the BS they got out of this BIG case it's no wonder our WO don't want to even follow up on call in witnessed violations. Not worth the time and effort to do anything. It's also no wonder the ODNR has no money. On the flip side it does help them kill off some of the deer they don't want.
 
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Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
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They're just like any other police force. Catching and prosecuting criminals costs money and results in lost revenue. Writing tickets makes money.
 

"J"

Git Off My Lawn
Supporting Member
56,743
274
North Carolina
Not saying it isn't good to slap these people around but, come on. They already had a lot of complaints about the guy and still took 2 years to slap his hands. I have no idea of the value of his truck or ATV but I bet they are not brand new lol. No hunting license for 5 years...pretty sure he didn't have one to commit the crimes to start with. Not allowed to have firearms, again, pretty sure he wasn't to have them to begin with. Had clients kill 9 bucks and who knows how many he had poached over the last 3-4 years to have in his adds. Not to mention screwing around on property he did not have the right or permission to be on of 40 families.

Like I said, Glad to see he got something out of it but this is not enough IMO. No wonder the ODNR had to put in 2 years of work to even make it worth while to prosecute. Doubt they even covered the cost of the WO investigators let alone court costs at the end of the day.

With the BS they got out of this BIG case it's no wonder our WO don't want to even follow up on call in witnessed violations. Not worth the time and effort to do anything. It's also no wonder the ODNR has no money. On the flip side it does help them kill off some of the deer they don't want.

What about the Drug and jacklighting offenses????
 

Ohiosam

*Supporting Member*
11,708
191
Mahoning Co.
There is a local guy who had a bad reputation for poaching. Not big bucks he just kept killing any deer he had a chance to kill. I know several people reported him, myself included over several years. They finally got him on a doe but the fine was smallest possible and iirc he didn't lose hunting privileges.
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
Thanks for sharing Curran. I agree with Huck. Glad to see some dirtbags get busted. This is the crap that makes it hard for the rest of us to gain access to land.

I agree with this and the other posts above. Fugg em hard and good! The pos dirtbags should have gotten hit a lot more IMO!
 
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finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,856
260
SW Ohio
I wonder why they even get to have their hunting privileges restored after 5 short years. Since they had run afowl of the law so long they should lose them permanently. Hey, I got an idea! If they knew they would lose their privileges for life, maybe they wouldn't do it in the first place!

This hand slapping ain't working in wildlife arenas or capital crime arenas. Fugg!!!