Law enforcement
Posted Wednesday, 14 December 2011 15:58
SEVIER COUNTY — On October 28, 2010, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources conservation officers received information from a concerned sportsman about a poached trophy buck deer near Sigurd, Utah. The animal, known locally as the "Church Farm Buck", was a well known resident of the area.
Through a subsequent investigation, officers determined that Tyson Young and Eric Utley had illegally killed the trophy deer. Young had a deer permit, however the season was closed at the time the animal was killed.
Utley did not have a deer permit for any of the 2010 deer hunting seasons. Neither of the individuals had permission to hunt the private property where the buck was killed.
Young and Utley were ultimately charged with wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a third degree felony, in Sixth District Court.
On October 11, 2011, Young pleaded guilty to a class B misdemeanor count of wanton destruction of protected wildlife. He was ordered to pay $2,000.00 restitution to the state's Help Stop Poaching Fund and was placed on 36 months of supervised probation.
On December 13, 2011, Utley pleaded guilty to one count of wanton destruction of protected wildlife, a class A misdemeanor. Utley was ordered to pay $4,000.00 restitution to the Help Stop Poaching Fund and was placed on 36 months of supervised probation. He faces the potential loss of hunting privileges for a period of of five years in an upcoming suspension proceeding.
Please help protect Utah's wildlife by reporting all suspected wildlife violations to the UTIP hotline at 1-800-662-3337. Rewards are available and reporting persons may remain anonymous.
