In the wake of a joint investigation by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and the office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, eight people have been indicted by a Gallia County grand jury on multiple felony charges of poaching white-tailed deer and stealing meat from hunters.
Investigators found that a deer-meat processing operation known as A&E Deer Processing and associates poached 30 Ohio white-tailed deer and skimmed more than 700 pounds of meat from deer that hunters paid to have processed by the business. A&E Deer Processing then sold the stolen meat for a profit.
“Deer hunting is a deep-rooted tradition in Ohio, with generations having been taught the values of conservation, responsibility and discipline,” Yost said. “This level of corruption violates those tenets, and protecting and preserving this part of our heritage are important to all sportsmen and -women.”
Each of the past two years, more than 180,000 white-tailed deer were harvested in Ohio, according to ODNR.
Hunting – of deer and other game – is an economic boon for the state. A recent Ohio State University study found that roughly 9 million hunting trips are taken in Ohio every year, with hunters spending $800 million here annually.
AG Yost lauded the investigative efforts of ODNR and the work of Environmental Enforcement Section of his office that led to the indictments.
The eight people charged face a combined 91 criminal counts:
- Aaron L. Jones, 32, of Thurman: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), tampering with records (F3), theft (F5), receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), money laundering (F3), illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), over bag limit of antlered deer taken in a season (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (two counts, M3), jacklighting (M3)
- Brittney E. Marcum, 31, of Thurman: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
- Randy L. Jones Jr., 64, of Thurman: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), receiving stolen property – firearm (F4), over bag limits of antlered deer taken in a season (M3), attached antlerless game check confirmation number to antlered deer (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
- Charlotte F. Jones, 63, of Thurman: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to telecommunications fraud (F4), complicity to tampering with records (F3), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to receiving (disposing of) stolen property (F5), complicity to falsification (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), receiving stolen property – firearm (F4), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3)
- James E. Copley, 58, of Thurman: engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity (F1), complicity to theft (F5), complicity to money laundering (F3), complicity to illegal sale of wild animal parts (F5), tampering with records (F3), theft (F5), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance (F5), aiding a wildlife offender: accepting deer without a game check (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (M3), providing false data when game checking a deer (three counts, M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (M3)
- Justin M. Wells, 36, of Thurman: theft (F5), failure to game check a deer (five counts, M3), over bag limit of deer taken in a season (M3), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged turkey parts (M4), jacklighting (M3)
- William C. Gilbert, 27, of Thurman: tampering with records (F3), grand theft (F4), possession of untagged deer parts (M3), possession of untagged deer meat (M3), jacklighting (M3), hunting deer with an illegal hunting implement (two counts, M3), failure to game check a deer (M3), jacklighting (M3), failure to game check a deer (M3)
- Justin F. Butterfield, 23, of Brice: theft (F5), failure to game check a deer (M3)
