The following items are compiled from recent Texas Parks and Wildlife law enforcement reports.

Gesundheit!

On Feb. 15, a Real County game warden assisted the Real County Sheriff’s Department on a call about a reckless driver that had been pulled over just south of Leakey. After the deputy made contact with the driver, he told the game warden the driver was acting very nervous. While the deputy was running the driver’s information the subject sped away and a pursuit ensued. Real County sheriff’s office, the game warden, the DPS trooper and the Real County Constable were involved in the pursuit. After pursuing the subject for about 5 miles south of Leakey the subject stopped and fled on foot. The driver ran towards the Frio river and jumped in the river. The game warden drove to the other side of the river to try and apprehend the subject, but the subject made it back across the river. A bystander told the warden where the subject crossed the river again, and he and the other officers began a search for the subject. While waiting for the Edwards County sheriff’s office K9 unit to arrive, the game warden was continuing the search when he heard someone sneeze in the tall grass. The warden began searching the area where he heard the sneeze and shortly after found the subject in a ditch covered up with grass. The subject was apprehended transported to the Real County Jail. The subject said he fled because he was scared and was out on bond. He also had two bags of marijuana stuffed in his boots.

What Happens at the Lake House

On Feb. 8, Llano County game wardens responded to a shots fired call with deputies. Multiple callers stated an individual in a subdivision was shooting an automatic rifle at a buoy in the lake near houses and towards boats in the water. A rental house was located with eight people where the shooter was identified. The shooter admitted to hiding the rifle inside the residence. Consent was given to search the house which yielded the rifle, bags of marijuana, unprescribed Adderall, and psilocybin mushrooms. A total of five people were arrested for charges ranging from possession of marijuana, deadly conduct- 3rd degree felony, and possession of controlled substance 1>4 grams — 2nd degree felony.

Stop Methin’ Around

On Feb. 10, an Ellis County game warden received a call from the Cedar Hill police chief to discuss issues and complaints they were receiving on a rural part of the city where their officers couldn’t easily access.   After the game warden met with the chief and lieutenant, he patrolled the area and located a white truck trespassing with the driver still sitting in the vehicle.  A meth pipe was in his hunting jacket and the suspect admitted to waiting on his friend to go hog hunting.  The game warden located 1.6 grams of meth in the vehicle and a loaded 30-30 rifle.  The suspect was a convicted felon and the rifle came back as stolen out of Montgomery County.  The subject was arrested and placed in the Ellis County Jail. Multiple charges pending.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Dumb

On Feb. 22, while patrolling the San Jacinto River for fishing license violations in eastern Montgomery County, San Jacinto and Montgomery County game wardens heard a gunshot that sounded extremely close. After looking at a map, they noticed a pipeline about 50 yards away. As they made their way down the pipeline, the wardens noticed a pickup and ATV tucked away into the woods. While approaching the pickup, they witnessed two individuals tucking things into the toolbox of the truck. It appeared they had interrupted what was about to be a hunt without consent case. A bag of hog-wild attractant was found in the toolbox as well as a shotgun with buckshot and a rifle with a thermal scope. The ATV had been reported stolen out of Liberty County in 2018, so it was seized for further investigation.  The registered owner of the ATV listed a guide on his hunting lease as his primary suspect. The guide just happened to be the same individual who was in possession of the ATV. Charges Pending.

Lights Out

On Feb. 15, a Sabine County game warden observed a truck traveling on State Highway 87 near Milam, Texas with inoperable taillights and license plate lights.  The warden initiated a traffic stop on the truck and upon contacting the driver and passenger, the warden located a white-tailed buck deer in the bed of the truck.  After a brief interview, the warden was able to obtain a confession from the individuals.  The deer was shot from the road with the aid of an artificial light.  Both subjects were arrested for hunting white-tailed deer at night and hunting with the aid of artificial light.  Cases Pending.

Food Truck Bandits

While returning a recovered stolen game camera from a previous hunting case to the land manager of a local development company, a Montgomery County game warden learned that they had been having theft issues from the active construction areas on some of their development properties. The warden and a Grimes County game warden made a pass through the development while on routine patrol the evening of Feb. 15 and witnessed four individuals loading thousands of dollars of construction materials into the back of two pickup trucks. When the wardens contacted the group, they claimed that an unnamed friend who worked there told them they could have what they were taking. The land manager was able to quickly contact the construction superintendent of the project who verified that no one other than him had the authority to give away material and he did not give anyone permission to take anything. All four individuals were arrested for theft $750-$2,500, a class A misdemeanor. Upon further questioning, the group caught stealing were discovered as the drivers of food trucks for several local developments, including the one they were caught in.