Father & Son Arrested For Illegal Hunting In Northern Michigan

[DougGuy]

PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY, Mich. (WPBN/WGTU) --

A father and son from Rogers City are being charged for poaching elk and other animals.

The arrest of Val Vogelheim, 56 and Josh Vogelheim, 26, follows an ongoing investigation according to conservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The father and son turned themselves in to the Presque Isle County Prosecutor's Office, where they were arrested and arraigned on several charges.

According to investigators the poaching took place at multiple hunting camps across northern Michigan.

Val Vogelheim is charged with nine counts including:

Aiding and abetting
taking elk without a license
Possession of illegally taken game
Taking deer without a license
Loaning a deer license to another
Unlawful methods of taking turkey
Possession of protected raptors

Josh Vogelheim is charged with two counts:

Taking turkey without a license
Taking deer without a license

Conservation officers received an anonymous tip in September, 2019 regarding illegal activities at a camp located in southern Presque Isle County.

After a lengthy investigation, Conservation Officer Sidney Collins obtained a search warrant.

According to the DNR, during the investigation officers located several Michigan elk, white-tailed deer and wild turkey that were suspected to be illegally taken.

In addition, a snowy owl, a sharp-shinned hawk, a barred owl and other frozen game were found.

Officers also reported finding evidence pointing to the unlawful feeding of wildlife and a second camp that involved similar illegal activities.

In October, officers searched the second camp, also located in southern Presque Isle County, where they said they found additional evidence, suspects and criminal activity linking back several years.

“A lot of people have been directly involved with these camps,” Collins said.

DNA evidence confirmed that all of the game was taken in Michigan, according to the DNR.

Collins and Conservation Officer Paul Fox have conducted numerous investigations with other suspects located throughout the state and anticipate additional arrests.

"It takes time, often years, to investigate illegal activity that takes place at hunting camps,” said Chief Gary Hagler, DNR Law Enforcement Division. “We’re pleased to see how quickly Officer Collins was able to put together the evidence and coordinate a thorough, investigative effort at multiple locations throughout the state.”

https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/f...ENJlmqwWJQdgkE

[Plate plinker]

Dirt bags.

[osteodoc08]

Hope the game laws are tough up there.

[Plate plinker]

Hope the game laws are tough up there.

They are. Those guys are in for a rough ride. In the state of Michigan they can take any and all equipment including vehicles which were used in the crime. Plus fines and so on.

[Petrol & Powder]

Looks like Michigan DNR put a lot of effort and resources into that investigation. My guess is that was a long term problem and the state finally had enough from those idiots and made them a project.

[Plate plinker]

MI has many problems with poachers and trespassing. The MDNR has wide ranging powers and it is serious business for a state that prides itself in the outdoor activities.

[oldred]

They are. Those guys are in for a rough ride. In the state of Michigan they can take any and all equipment including vehicles which were used in the crime. Plus fines and so on.

Are they not looking at any jail time?

About 10 years should be enough -for each offense!

[country gent]

I believe in Michigan they can confiscate and sell any thing used in taking processing or storing game taken illegally. SO firearms, cars trucks, houses land any and everything.

[bedbugbilly]

My father-in-law was a DNR Forester - worked out of the Baraga office for years. My wife's God-parents were the L.E. Conservation Officer and his wife who worked out of the same office - a fine gentleman who I enjoyed visiting with whenever I saw him. For a number of years, my wife and I wold go up and I would go out deer hunting with my F in L. Those days were nearly 50 years ago now. Whenever we were up at her parent's, I would often go to work with my F in L in the woods where he checked on the loggers cutting on state land, kept in touch with the local sawmills, etc. - and during those years -I met so many fine people in the logging industry. People don't realize the hard life of the loggers until you see it and my F in L always had their best interests at heart. I remember that in those days, it was not uncommon for a "native" (resident) to take a deer out of season once in a while and a blind eye was often turned as the DNR knew it was the difference of them being able to feed their families or going hungry when times when times were tough. But - the outright "poaching for profit" was pursued with diligence. One time, there was a large scale poaching ring operating in the western half of the UP - taking primarily deer but not limited to that - and the processed meat was being hauled to Wisconsin where it was sold; They worked on it for a very long time and finally were able to round most of them up and put and end to it. Even during deer season though, poaching and taking more than the limit was an issue and I can remember running across the L.E. Officer out in the middle of nowhere and my F in L and I being asked to go with him as "back up" as he busted one or two individuals for exceeding their limit. My F in L was deputized already due to his position, even though it was in the Forestry department and my wife's God-father would just look at me and say . . . "consider yourself deputized".

Through the years, I have heard many smart off about the "fish cops" but I have a lot of respect for the men and women who work the L.E. Division of the DNR. Their job is a tough one. Oftentimes they are pretty much alone with very little available "back up" that can get there in a hurry. Like many LEOs, they have no idea of what the situation is that they may be walking in to. They have coe a long way in their investigative capabilities with the use of DNA, etc..

Kudos to them for busting this father/son poaching team and I hope that they throw the book at them. They deserve to loose their guns and equipment used during the commission of their crimes and let it be a message to others who wish to do the same.

In the end, it's no different than what is going on in the streets of some of the cities with the burning, looting and destruction of property. If a Federal building is damaged or destroyed, it is the destruction of property belonging to the citizens and taxpayers of our country. These two clowns who poached are no different - they are destroying animals that, in reality, belong to the us who are citizens and taxpayers in the state of Michigan. There are two kinds of people in this life . . . 'givers" and "takers". These two idiots are true "takers"d and I hope they throw the book at therm.

[45workhorse]

Throw the book at them, after they are under the corner of the jail, before the jack is pulled out.
Just my opinion, my opinion and two bucks might get you a cup of coffee, someplace.

[Geezer in NH]

Ya throw the book at them. Not like they protested, pillaged, looted and burned business eh? Get to real time. There are much more important things IMHO

[Winger Ed.]

Games violation penalties need to be harsh.

Compared to what's going on, catching a poacher or game thief is sort of rare.
With so few Game Wardens, the crimes look easy to commit and get away with.
Game violations need to be discouraged as much and harshly as possible.

[Petrol & Powder]

Most game law violations are NOT serious crimes.

The fact that Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources expended so much effort on the case highlighted in this thread makes me think one of the following situations prompted the investigation:
1. The defendants in this case were well known to law enforcement and they finally just had enough. Sort of like that annoying fly that's buzzing around your head and you stop what you are doing and get the fly swatter.
2. Law enforcement received a large number of complaints about those individuals and dedicated some resources to fix the problem.
3. The game violations are part of a larger investigation, portions of which have not yet been revealed to the public.
4. The game warden in this case was simply extremely zealous.

As for the fate of the defendants, no one is going to prison for hunting without a license or taking game out of season. Most of the charges listed are likely to result in fines, the possible forfeiture of vehicles and weapons, the loss of license privileges and perhaps some form of probation.
The possession of raptors may be a serious offense but I don't know the circumstances.

A nearly year long investigation culminating in the execution of a search warrant sounds like the defendants had been a thorn in the side of law enforcement and the police just made a project out of them.

[porthos]

golly; i hope that none of the local honest hunters don't try to inflict some sort of revenge.

[osteodoc08]

In GA it’s usually fines, loss of game privileges and confiscation of property. Sometimes jail time but typically short.

Keep us updated with the outcome.

[Plate plinker]

Most game law violations are NOT serious crimes.

The fact that Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources expended so much effort on the case highlighted in this thread makes me think one of the following situations prompted the investigation:
1. The defendants in this case were well known to law enforcement and they finally just had enough. Sort of like that annoying fly that's buzzing around your head and you stop what you are doing and get the fly swatter.
2. Law enforcement received a large number of complaints about those individuals and dedicated some resources to fix the problem.
3. The game violations are part of a larger investigation, portions of which have not yet been revealed to the public.
4. The game warden in this case was simply extremely zealous.

As for the fate of the defendants, no one is going to prison for hunting without a license or taking game out of season. Most of the charges listed are likely to result in fines, the possible forfeiture of vehicles and weapons, the loss of license privileges and perhaps some form of probation.
The possession of raptors may be a serious offense but I don't know the circumstances.

A nearly year long investigation culminating in the execution of a search warrant sounds like the defendants had been a thorn in the side of law enforcement and the police just made a project out of them.

The CO’s in MI are highly trained and work diligently to protect state/public property. Taking a elk from the small herd will not be lightly dealt with. When I was a youngster resident there it was a dream to get a tag. These guys will get sympathy from no body.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not questioning the training and diligence of the game wardens; they did a fine job.
It is simply a matter of the punishment available. No one is going to prison for hunting without a license or taking an animal out of season.

[Plate plinker]

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,...9754--,00.html

Found another article that states mandatory 5-90 days jail and a $5000 fine. Plus extra dollars per point on a bull. Hit em where it hurts.

[35isit]

Those illegally taken animals were stolen from all of us, especially the residents of MI. What they done impacted every sportsman in that area. Case in point. A guy in our area bragged how he killed every deer he saw. Whether on his place or someone else's. He used landowner, state wide, his wife's and his children's tags. Who knows how many if any he didn't check? On the adjoining properties to him deer populations dropped to near zero. The local game warden was advised to his braggadocio. After an investigation by the warden the deer eventually came back. Actually a few wall hangers have been harvested.

[Petrol & Powder]

https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,...9754--,00.html

Found another article that states mandatory 5-90 days jail and a $5000 fine. Plus extra dollars per point on a bull. Hit em where it hurts.

I don't see a $5000 fine listed in any of those punishments and most of those listed violations use the words, "OR" and "Up To" when describing the potential jail time.

So an offender would likely get a fine and a few days in jail and the judge could SUSPEND the jail time, so that would be only a fine.