Warden Blotter: Cases from West Central counties
February 20, 2013
By: Bureau of Law Enforcement
Warden cases from Clark, Chippewa, Eau Claire, Trempealeau and Jackson counties
Clark County
Warden Adam Hanna of Neillsville collected a red-phase screech owl, a barred owl, and a red-tailed hawk that were killed on Clark County roads in January. These raptors were transferred to a local educator who holds a scientific collector’s permit, which enables him to use these migratory birds of prey for educational purposes.
Warden Hanna forwarded criminal negligent burning charges to the Eau Claire District Attorney’s Office for violations that led to a forest fire in the county forest near Hamilton Falls Park Campground. The men involved left a fire unattended after burning the coating off of stolen copper wire. Two of the men are in jail/prison on other charges.
After a three-month investigation, Warden Hanna forwarded criminal charges to the Clark County District Attorney’s Office for bear poaching violations that occurred in the Stanley-Thorp area.
Chippewa County
Warden Shaun Deeney of Chippewa Falls assisted the sheriff’s department with a call regarding illegally set cable restraints and foot hold traps. None of the traps were marked and the cables were set too close to rooted vegetation and next to sight-exposed bait. Deeney was able to identify and locate the trappers responsible and enforcement action was taken.
Warden Deeney arrested a Chippewa Falls man for shooting multiple deer with archery equipment without the proper tags. The suspect also found other hunters to place their tags on deer that he killed. Criminal and civil charges are pending with the district attorney’s office.
Warden Deeney made contact with a subject who was cited by the sheriff’s department for a trespass that occurred during archery season. Deeney later learned that the subject shot a deer which was then loaded into his vehicle without a carcass tag. Enforcement action was taken.
Eau Claire County
Warden Scott Thiede of Eau Claire spent much of the past several weeks assisting the public with questions, responding to reports of injured deer, registering otters and bobcats for trappers and hunters, field patrols to address ATV, fishing, snowmobiling and littering violations as well as spoke to about forty students at a DNR Snowmobile Safety Class in Cleghorn, and provided ride-along experience to two men interested in law enforcement jobs.
Trempealeau County
Warden Robin Barnhardt, of Osseo referred a case to the Trempealeau County District Attorney’s Office for charges regarding an incident which occurred in October 2012. The suspect shot a large buck near Ettrick at night from the road with the aid of vehicle headlights, and while he was trying to load the buck into his truck he was apprehended by a concerned passer-by. Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Deputies and Wardens Ed McCann and Tyler Strelow, both of La Crosse, responded to the scene. The suspect faces multiple charges.
Warden Barnhardt assisted Warden Jim Cleven of Menomonie with investigating a snowmobile injury crash which occurred on Lake Tainter in Dunn County. The 22-year-old snowmobile operator and a passenger were injured when the operator lost control of the machine and rolled it over. Warden Barnhardt contacted the operator at a hospital in Eau Claire and determined that she was intoxicated. The operator was arrested for snowmobile OWI.
Jackson County
Warden Jake Donar of Black River Falls followed-up on a poaching investigation from the 2010 and 2011 deer hunting seasons. This case was referred to Warden Donar by Warden Robin Barnhardt of Osseo and Warden Mike Katzenberg of Delavan. Through the investigation, three counts of hunting deer without valid deer license and one count of possession of an illegal deer.