By Molly Kirk/DWR
Photos by Meghan Marchetti/DWR
From early June to the end of August 2023, Virginia Conservation Police Officers (CPOs) investigated the unlawful killing of dozens of deer in Lee and Scott counties. CPOs Derrik Rickels, Joshua Guizar, Dylan Harding, and Matthew Meade, and Sergeant Matthew Arnold investigated this case as the district continued to receive reports of additional deer killed by aid of spotlight.
“Scott and Lee counties combine for over 970 square miles,” said CPO Rickels. “During this time, [the CPO position in] Lee County was vacant. We had to coordinate with other officers in the district to determine the best areas of the counties to spend our time and effort to work most efficiently. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their spotlighting route. There were several times that we had four or five officers working certain areas to catch the suspects in the act.”
Additional assistance was provided by CPOs Corey Gardner, Tanner Harrington, and Tyler Sheets, as well as K9 CPOs Mark Vandyke and Jacob Chaffin. The CPOs conducted saturation spotlight patrols, deployed K9s, strengthened community policing and reporting, and recovered various forms of evidence. Multiple search warrants, including cell phone tower data dumps, were executed and hours of surveillance video were reviewed.
“This was an interesting case to work,” said CPO Rickels. “By the time that we realized all of these smaller cases were related, most of the community was aware of the ongoing issue. We were getting questions about the status of the case on a daily basis. Working this large of a case, over several months, and then finally seeing all of the hard work come together to a successful prosecution was very rewarding. Not only did we protect the wildlife from these serial violators, but also members of our community saw that we take this seriously and will work every lead we get.”
In total, 55 deer were suspected of being killed by aid of spotlight. Ultimately, two subjects were caught in the act of spotlighting a deer. “We were assisted by deputies and investigators with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO),” said CPO Rickels. “On the night they were caught, an off-duty SCSO investigator witnessed subjects shining a spotlight from the window of the vehicle. Officers from District 33 and District 34 were notified and responded to the scene. Officers from both districts assisted with interviews and evidence collection.”
CPOs conducted lengthy interviews with both subjects and confessions were obtained for the poaching spree. The two subjects had been using a suppressed rifle to kill deer and evidence of their kills was located on their cell phones.
The two subjects were subsequently charged and warned for a total of 238 violations for approximately 30 deer, two bears, and one owl. The adjudication of the case was completed in October 2024.
Subject #1:
- Conviction of 7 class 1 misdemeanors, 91 charges taken under advisement for 12 months
- $3,800 restitution to landowners
- $10,255 replacement costs
- $693 court costs
- 5-year hunting revocation
- Forfeiture of the rifle and suppressor
- 12 months jail suspended
- 12 months supervised probation
- 6 years unsupervised probation
- Mental health assessment ordered by the court
Subject #2 (juvenile):
- Conviction of 14 class 2 misdemeanors, remainder taken under advisement
- $7,000 replacement costs
- 5-year hunting revocation
- 28 months of jail suspended
- 24 months of adult supervised probation
- Mental health assessment ordered by the court