Pennsylvania Game News - June 2013 - 44

Landowners help PGC nab four deer
poachers in Huntingdon County
THE Pennsylvania Game Commission
has filed multiple charges against four
men for their involvement in the taking of a large 10-point buck illegally
in Huntingdon County during the first
week of the 2012 statewide firearms
deer season.
The charges against Christopher M.
Secrest, 26, Huntingdon; William T.
Copenhaver, 30, Huntingdon; Nicholas J. Copenhaver, 27, Mount Union;
and Isaiah W. Shore, 28, Mount Union;
stem from an investigation conducted
by Huntingdon County Wildlife Conservation Officer Amy Nabozny into
an incident that occurred Nov. 29 in
Henderson Township.
The four defendants were driving
on Numers Hollow Road shortly after
5 p.m. when they spotted several deer
along the road. N. Copenhaver, the
driver, stopped the vehicle and W. Copenhaver noticed a big buck standing
in the woods. Secrest and Shore both
took shots at the deer; one struck and
killed it. N. Copenhaver then turned
the vehicle around while the other
three retrieved the deer. Hearing the
shot and knowing the area, nearby
landowners pursued the vehicle, got a
license number and reported the incident to the Game Commission’s Southcentral Region Office in Huntingdon.
“Because of their willingness to get
involved, nearby landowners got us
what we needed to track down the individuals who poached that big buck and
hold them accountable,” said Nabozny.
“Without their help, these guys would
have gotten away with this theft of
wildlife and crime against all Pennsyl44

vanians. The buck they poached had
a ‘green score’ just under Boone &
Crockett Club trophy class.”
Secrest was charged and pled guilty
to multiple Game and Wildlife Code
violations resulting in substantial fines
and penalties, including jail time.
Those charges included the unlawful
taking or possession of game or wildlife, with a fine of $1,500, in addition
to an $800 replacement cost for the
deer killed, and a 15-day jail sentence,
because this was not the first unlawful
deer charge Secrest has faced in recent
years. Other charges were trespass on
private property while hunting with a
$150 fine, shooting on or across highways with a fine of $200, and unlawful
devices and methods (for the use of a
vehicle) with a fine of $350.
Shore, the other shooter, also faced
substantial fines for the same charges
as above. His fines totaled $1,150 with
an additional $800 replacement cost
for the deer and an additional $500
fine imposed because a witness report
was instrumental in his conviction
(The money was split to pay two witnesses through the Turn In a Poacher
program).
W. Copenhaver pled guilty to two
charges of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife and trespass on
private property while hunting totaling
$650 in fines.
N. Copenhaver pled guilty to two
charges of unlawful taking or possession of game or wildlife and unlawful
devices and methods totaling $650 in
fines.
“The Game Commission, and I’m
GAME NEWS

Pennsylvania Game News - June 2013

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