Oklahoma Teens Suspected Of Poaching High-Dollar Deer

Two Oklahoma high school seniors are accused of poaching two trophy bucks from a deer farm in southwest Delaware County on Christmas morning.

Because the two bucks that were killed were part of a high-fenced deer breeding operation, it's a more serious crime, just like killing someone's livestock.

“It's one thing to poach a deer, it's another thing to poach a deer out of a half-acre enclosure,” game warden Kody Moore said.

The rural property is just north of Rose. The most traffic around there is the mailman or mouse-hunting cats. It’s a prime location for a deer farm.

“The individuals raise deer, buy and sell them just as livestock and they sell them to commercial hunting areas for people go and pay big dollars to hunt these animal,” Moore said.

The licensed deer farm is for breeding and raising deer, not hunting. A 13-point buck was the farm's main breeder and a 10-pointer was the backup, together they were worth about $15,000.

“They are trophy bucks,” Moore said.

Both bucks were born on the farm and both died there at the hands of poachers, Moore says. On Christmas morning, the owners found a blood trail and saw their 8-foot fence had been cut. Moore and his partner, Marni Loftis, asked for help on the game warden's Facebook page.

“The Facebook page is making a huge difference,” Moore said. “It's making the public aware of what's going on all the time.”

Oklahoma Game Wardens Facebook page

A few weeks after the post was made to social media, a solid tip came in saying the poachers were bragging about their kills.

“In a situation like this, I don't know what you'd be proud of,” Moore said.

The suspects are 18-year-old high school seniors from Kansas, Oklahoma. When the game wardens questioned them, the teens initially denied killing the bucks, but when wardens told the young men what they knew, Moore says they confessed.

“They pretty much knew that the jig was up,” Moore said.

Moore says the teenagers killed the deer at 3 o’clock Christmas morning using bows. Moore says he was on to one of the teens before the tip came in. He says the teen who shot the 13-point buck checked it in with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife as if he had harvested it legally.

“I thought, 'what are the odds someone shot a 13-point buck the same day a 13-point buck had been poached just four miles away?'" Moore said. “Most people on Christmas morning are wanting to spend time with family, not go hunting.”

Moore said when the teens saw the game warden’s Facebook post, they hid the skulls in a vacant rent house attic. He says the teens apologized to him and even the deer breeder, but the damage has already been done.

“This is how they make their money, and they know they're out big money for some of these animals,” he said. “Because of what they'd done, it's costing this gentleman a lot of money to recoup his losses.”

The case is now in the hands of the Delaware County District Attorney. It's possible the teenagers will be ordered to pay up to $15,000 restitution, but it's ultimately up to the judge to decide the amount.

Oklahoma Wildlife Department Facebook page

Oklahoma Wildlife Department website