Conservation Law Enforcement Corner – December 2016

The Hall of Shame column is designed to highlight the efforts of Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Division (LED) officers who, among their many duties, protect Georgia’s wildlife, sportsmen and natural resources from game-law violators

Irwin County: On Nov. 20, 2015, Cpl. John Stokes received a call about someone shooting at night off Black Gum Road in Irwin County. The call came in at around 7:45 p.m.

According to incident reports, Cpl. Stokes talked with the landowner on the phone, and he said that his brother heard a shot come off their farm and saw what looked to be a silver-looking, full-size truck leave the area. 

When Cpl. Stokes arrived at the property, he noticed a full-sized truck, possibly silver, in his headlights making the curve in front of him coming his way. Cpl. Stokes got out of his vehicle and walked out in front of his truck, and the other truck pulled up. The officer said he noticed a rifle in the truck and asked the driver if he had been shining in the area. The driver, who was 19 years old at the time, said he was not shining and was just passing through.

The landowner pulled up and said that this was the truck he had just seen leaving the area after the shot, and the landowner said he had also seen them the week before and warned them not to be shining. Cpl. Stokes told the driver, identified as Matthew Rodgers, of Rebecca, that he didn’t believe him, and Cpl. Stokes asked Rodgers if there were other people with him and asked where they were. 

Rodgers confessed to Stokes that he had been shining and had shot a buck. He stated that the other person had been dropped off behind him in the dirt road. Cpl. Stokes asked Rodgers to step out and noticed a spotlight in the truck. Cpl. Stokes then told him to call the other person and tell him to come to where they were. A few minutes later, Frankie Snipes, 18 at the time, from Irwinville, walked up behind the truck. 

In the meantime, the landowner found the buck laying in the field. 

Rodgers and Snipes were both charged with hunting deer at night, hunting from a public road, hunting from a vehicle and hunting without permission. According to court documents provided by DNR LED, both were fined the following: Hunting at Night, $720; Hunting Without Permission, $720; Hunting From a Public Road, $328; and Hunting From a Vehicle, $328. Fine totals were  $2,096 each. 

Laurens County: Many folks probably don’t realize the diversity of cases that DNR Law Enforcement Officers investigate. 

On Sunday, July 26, 2015, Cpl. D. Stiles received a complaint of illegal dumping on private property on Cole Road in Laurens County.  

A few days later, Cpl. Stiles met the landowner and his wife at their property to investigate the dumping site. The landowner stated that he had been on his property on July 25, and when he returned on July 26, he noticed tire tracks on his property and found a pile of dumped asphalt roofing shingles and other roofing debris. 

Cpl. Stiles photographed the scene and began investigating the site. The vehicle tracks at the site appeared to be from a large vehicle with dual tires. In the debris pile, Cpl. Stiles located and collected various items including white paper sacks with the logo “Krispy Krunchy Chicken.” Inside one of the sacks, he found invoices from Cordell True Value in Dublin. The invoices were for roofing material and displayed the name of a local roofing company. 

Cpl. Stiles was able to meet with one of the company owners, who stated that one of his employees subcontracted the hauling of the roofing debris from job sites, and that the company had an account with the landfill where the debris should have been taken. 

Cpl. Stiles told the company owner that the illegal dumping was a serious offense and those responsible could be charged with a felony. The owner agreed to cooperate, but that he didn’t have any knowledge of the illegal dumping, and that he was willing to clean up the site.

Cpl. Stiles contacted the employee, Stephen Brett Larson, who said he dumped the roofing debris because he had failed to get a load of roofing debris to the landfill prior to closing time and was expected to arrive at a job site the following day with the dump truck empty. He decided to dump the roofing debris on private property, which used to belong to his grandmother and that he was familiar with.

Cpl. Stiles contacted the landowner and explained the situation, who was involved, and that the owner of the roofing company and the violator were willing to clean up the dump site. The landowner stated that he felt that if the person responsible was willing to clean up the site, he felt that not prosecuting to the full extent was reasonable.

Larson was charged with Unlawful Dumping of Egregious Litter (greater than 500 pounds/100 cubic feet). Court records show a guilty disposition with a fine of $540 and 6 months probation.