Poachers Convicted of Illegal Activity In Region 7

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Frank Schoonover of Broadus, MT pled guilty to two counts of outfitting without a license, one count of possessing an unlawfully killed mule deer buck and one count of loaning a license to another in Powder River County Justice Court.   Schoonover paid $890 in fines and was assessed $1,323 in restitution and his hunting privileges to hunt, fish and trap in Montana were revoked for 10 years.

 

This was a year-long investigation started by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden Lennie Buhmann after receiving confidential information about the illegal activity. The case concluded last summer after a search warrant was executed and charges were brought against Schoonover.

 

According to warden Buhmann, “Outfitting or guiding hunters for profit, when the hunters do not possess the proper licenses, is about as bad as it gets when it comes to game violations in Montana.”

 

In another investigation, Steven Range of Minneapolis, Minnesota reached a plea agreement and pled guilty to two counts of killing mule deer bucks without a license and paid $1070 in fines and was assessed $1,000 in restitution with his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges revoked for two years in Montana. Several other charges were dismissed in Powder River County Justice Court as part of the plea agreement. Range also forfeited several sets of deer antlers to the State of Montana.

 

The investigation occurred over several years and was initiated by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks criminal investigator Chad Murphy. Mr. Murphy discovered that Range had purchased a Montana resident license while being a resident of Minnesota. In 2005 Range was cited for three counts of making false statements to obtain Montana resident hunting licenses. He forfeited $1205 in bond, was found guilty and lost his privileges to hunt, fish and trap in Montana and Wildlife Violator Compact states for 18 months.   However, an additional investigation found that Range, other members of his family and friends had been hunting on a ranch in Powder River County since the 1960’s. Minnesota conservation officers and MT FWP game wardens cooperated to bring charges against Range in Powder River County, Montana.

 

“It’s actually very hard to determine how many deer Range has killed over the years in Montana without a valid hunting licenses,” said warden Buhmann.