Pennsylvania Game News - September 2010 - 30

me nervous, but not this time. Our evidence was overwhelming, and I was well prepared. While my first witness, WCO Ken Packard, testified before the district judge, I noticed Choo-Choo whispering to his attorney and moving his head side to side. It was obvious he was disagreeing with my witness in a manner the judge couldn’t help but observe. However, once I turned on the TV monitor and played the video of Choo-Choo firing a rifle from inside his truck, his mood changed and the whispering stopped. After resting my case, it was time for the defense attorney to earn his pay. As expected, he tried to have the case dismissed on technical grounds. When that didn’t work, he claimed “entrapment” as a defense. However, there is a legal definition for entrapment, and the circumstances surrounding this case did not fit. I argued that there wasn’t any encouragement from law enforcement for the defendant to commit the offense, a key element of entrapment. We merely provided an opportunity for someone who was already predisposed to do so, to shoot at a decoy. I compared it to law enforcement officers using decoy vehicles parked in high crime areas where vehicle theft is a common problem. The judge accepted my argument, and refused to dismiss the case. At this point, the attorney’s only remaining option was putting his client on the witness stand. So he really didn’t have any options, as no attorney in his right mind would allow Choo-Choo to open his mouth on the witness stand. The judge ruled that the defendant was guilty, and imposed the maximum penalty. The fines and attorney fees amounted to a large sum of money, and I couldn’t help smiling to myself. After all, it had been a long time in coming. Choo-Choo was clearly very an30

gry. His jaw was tightly clenched, and his hands formed into huge fists, as he glared at me with contempt. The enraged ChooChoo stormed out of the district judge’s office. The huge man was moving like a freight train, and pushed the exit door so hard it nearly snapped off the hinges. That’s the way Brutus would have acted, I thought. The following year, WCO Ken Packard and deputy Chuck VanGorder helped me with another decoy operation. It was during the deer season, and we used the same decoy. This time, however, we set up in a different area, along a remote state forest road in Leidy Township near Kettle Creek. Within minutes of setting up, a pickup truck approached. Ken and Chuck were safely concealed near the decoy, and I was positioned nearby in my patrol vehicle on high ground. The truck stopped adjacent to the decoy, and within seconds a rifle barrel protruded from the passenger side. The loud crack from the gunshot echoed throughout the hollow. The two occupants of the truck were stunned when Ken and Chuck suddenly materialized like a menacing pair of ghosts. I arrived and escorted the shaken hunters away so the decoy could become operational again. The shooter’s antlered deer tag had been removed from his license, and he soon admitted to killing an 8-point buck earlier in the day. I collected the necessary evidence and secured a signed statement from him. Both men were issued numerous citations and released. As the day continued, a few more vehicles passed by the decoy without anyone noticing it. Daylight was waning, and we began talking on the radio about wrapping things up. Ken quickly interrupted, saying that a truck was approaching. My patrol vehicle was partially concealed behind some hemlock trees, and I watched as the approaching truck slowed down and stopped adjacent to the decoy. Then the driver started repeatedly blowing the horn.
GAME NEWS

Pennsylvania Game News - September 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - September 2010