Game Wardens Encounter Hawks in Stores and More

THIS IS HAWKWARD:

A Hardin County game warden was at the Beaumont District Office when he received a call from the manager of the local Office Depot store. The manager said they had a small hawk flying around inside the store and couldn’t get it to leave, even though they had the front and back roll-up doors open.

The warden recruited a licensed falconer who was experienced in handling and trapping birds of prey to help him catch the hawk. After the falconer arrived on scene with a hawk trap and some live bait, they soon discovered that although the bird resembled a hawk, it wasn’t a hawk.

It was, in fact, a large nightjar or “nighthawk,” which feeds on insects, rendering the trap idea useless. Undeterred, the warden and his falconer friend resorted to the old game warden standby — a ladder and a net.

After what resembled a scene from America’s Funniest Home Videos, they were able to finally corral the bird in a back hallway and catch it in the dip net. It was released outside, where it flew off unharmed.

The manager of the Office Depot store was very grateful that the bird was removed and would not be setting off the alarm system after closing.

BAD IDEA, THIS IS:

A Hays County game warden received an image from a cellphone game camera showing a man and woman trespassing and digging in an archeological Native American burial site. The warden went to the property and found the couple in a large hole previously dug by trespassers. Before the warden could say anything, the man stood up immediately and said he wasn’t digging for arrowheads and hates diggers.

The couple were husband and wife out on a date. They were both detained in handcuffs and separated at the front and back of the warden’s vehicle. The man admitted that he had a glass pipe in his pocket that he uses to smoke CBD oils. After a quick examination, the Baby Yoda glass pipe revealed small, clear and white crystals that looked like crystal meth.

The warden placed the pipe on the hood and went to the back of the vehicle to speak with the woman. She said she didn’t know the property was private, despite walking past multiple no-trespassing signs. The warden then walked back to the front of the vehicle and noticed the pipe was no longer on the hood. The man said he didn’t know where the pipe went.

Several feet in front of the vehicle, the pipe was found broken in half in the middle of a fresh footprint. Upon further examination of the hole where the couple was found, the warden found a small hand saw and freshly disturbed dirt.

The woman’s purse contained several gray rubber gardening gloves, each containing four Native American artifacts. The San Marcos Police Department took the couple to the Hays County Jail. While en route to jail, the man said he believed he had the coronavirus. He leaned forward against the partition and aggressively coughed toward the officers.

Both subjects were charged with criminal trespass and Antiquities Code violations. The husband was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and harassment of a public servant. Cases pending.

FOOL ME ONCE:

A Hays County game warden was contacted by a Hays County sheriff’s detective about trespassers digging for Native American artifacts on a private property in Buda. The landowner installed several game cameras hidden in trees to monitor the dig sites and caught a man, on two separate occasions, digging for artifacts during March and April 2019. The images were of high quality and showed the man’s face and unique tattoos on his arms.

In March 2020, the warden assisted a special agent with the Bureau of Land Management with a federal case involving the removal and sale of Native American corpses/bones and sacred burial beads from an archeological burial site. The warden shared game camera images of the Buda property trespasser with the agent. The agent recognized the man as an associate of the suspect he was actively investigating. The agent provided the name, and the trespasser was identified.

The warden and the agent interviewed the trespasser and confirmed his identity through his unique tattoos. The trespasser handed over 18 Native American artifacts that were taken from the Buda property. Arrest warrants were obtained for Antiquities Code violations and criminal trespass. The subject turned himself in. Cases pending.

THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM:

A Freestone County game warden was contacted by a landowner who said he allowed a man to hunt feral hogs on his property but had killed a deer in addition to the hog. The landowner explained that while driving his property, he found a fresh hog carcass, along with a fresh white-tailed doe.

The landowner asked the hunter what happened and was told that he “accidentally shot the doe when he was shooting at a hog.” The warden contacted the man, who admitted to shooting the doe, saying his “scope was off.”

Charges include hunting a white-tailed deer in closed season, failing to take hunter education and hunting without a license.

LOOK OUT BELOW:

A Freestone County game warden arrested a suspect in an ongoing investigation that began in February relating to hog hunting from a helicopter. A husband and wife were working cattle on their property when a helicopter began to hover over their property and shoot feral hogs. The husband waved his arms at the helicopter, and it flew off. After the investigation, it was clear that the helicopter owner did not have a landowner authorization permit for the property in question. Charges were filed for using an aircraft to manage wildlife without having a landowner authorization permit

FISHING FOR TROUBLE:

A Williamson County game warden was contacted by a retired law enforcement officer who was fishing the Dickerson River Bottom of the San Gabriel River in Circleville. He saw a man using a cast net and catching white bass.

The retired officer said there was a group of six men, and one was using the cast net. When the warden arrived on scene, he saw the man catching white bass with a cast net, then give it to another fisherman to manually hook the fish in the mouth onto a stringer.

The warden contacted the men and found that none of them had a fishing license. The man using the cast net caught 20 of the 25 fish on the stringer, two being undersized. Citations and civil restitution were filed, and the fish were donated to a needy family.

NO SALE:

A game warden was contacted about an Operation Game Thief incident in progress regarding an individual in Killeen selling crappie and catfish on a social media website. The warden located the post and found the seller’s address.

After arriving at the seller’s location, the individuals admitted to the warden that they had been trying to sell the crappie and catfish they caught at Stillhouse Hollow Lake on social media for the last two days, but no one purchased them. The warden issued a citation for the sale of protected game fish and seized seven blue catfish, one yellow catfish and a bag of crappie meat.

—from TPWD

 

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