This pisses me off!! Hope they catch these people!!!! Authorities hunting for Sea Center poachers Posted: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 2:00 am By ALAN NIESCHWIETZ alan.nieschwietz@thefacts | 0 comments LAKE JACKSON — Law enforcement officials are on the hunt for one or more poachers whom they believe killed deer that live on and around the property at Sea Center Texas. “We’re pretty sure they killed two deer,” Game Warden Jason Richers said. “They shot them in the front parking lot.” The crime happened between 11 p.m. Friday, when the last worker at the center left for the night, and 4 a.m. Saturday, when the first one showed up that day. That worker found lengthy blood trails in the parking lot where the deer where shot. The blood trails still were visible Tuesday. A crossbow bolt found at the scene indicated what type of weapon was used, Richers said. With the roughly two dozen or so deer being longtime fixtures at the center, Facility Director David Abrego is pretty sure those killed were two large bucks, still in velvet, known around there as Big Boy, the larger of the two and a 12-pointer, and Short Stack. Big Boy lived up to his name, with some shed antlers of his from a few years ago rating a 148 Boone and Crockett antler score, which would certainly be higher now, he said. “For this county, that’s a good deer,” Richers said. That left little doubt as to what motivated the poachers to commit the crime. Abrego was frank in his condemnation of the person or people responsible. “He’s not a hunter, he’s a killer,” he said. “We feed them. We have water for them. They’re part of the Sea Center is what it boils down to. “This isn’t just an offense to the state of Texas, it’s an offense to the people of Lake Jackson,” Abrego said. Unfortunately, there seems to be little to point authorities in the direction of the culprits because the existence of the deer wasn’t exactly a secret, Richers said. “A lot of people knew about them,” he said. That’s especially true as of late, because over the past couple of weeks, many of the animals adopted the habit of spending the night in the parking lot in front of the Sea Center building, which raised their profile considerably, Hatchery Manager Shane Bonnot said. “The deer would stay here because this is the best place to come, catch a breeze, get away from the mosquitoes and get some relief,” he said. A volunteer at the center, Tom Morris, said there was nothing sporting at all about the act because, being so used to people, the deer wouldn’t necessarily have been frightened by someone approaching. “They’re not tame, but you can get within 20 or 30 yards of them,” sometimes closer, he said. Richers is asking people with any information regarding this crime to call Operation Game Thief, a program set up by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, at 1-800-792-4263. Those providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator will be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Possible charges if the culprits are caught and convicted would range from hunting deer during a closed season, a Class C misdemeanor that would involve a fine of up to $500, to hunting without landowner consent, a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in prison, Richers said. While this is the first time such a crime has occurred at the Sea Center, there are instances throughout the county of trespassing by hunters, Richers said. “It’s not something that happens on a regular basis, but we usually get a few cases a year,” he said. Alan Nieschwietz is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0151.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 16:01:03 +0000