A Grand Junction man entered a plea deal for the poaching of three or more big game animals using artificial lights.
According to a press release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), 23-year-old Dylan Zuber was charged with 20 counts of wildlife violations, including willful destruction of wildlife, illegal take of three or more big game animals, and hunting with artificial light. Zuber pleaded guilty to one count each on July 26 in Mesa County Court. He was ordered to donate $2,500 to Colorado Operation Game Thief and pay $3,360.50 in fines and court costs.
Zuber was sentenced to a four-year deferred judgement for the felony charge and a court-ordered suspension of all hunting and possession of firearms. He was also sentenced to 50 hours of community service.
CPW says Zuber’s conviction also makes him eligible for suspension of all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges in Colorado and the other 47 states in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact for up to five years. This suspension will be determined at a later date.
CPW Wildlife Officer Zac Chrisman was tipped off in June 2020 that Zuber and a friend had poached a buck and doe mule deer on Piñon Mesa in Mesa County. The high elevation mesa is located west of the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction.
Zuber’s friend was in a fatal rollover vehicle accident on that same evening, according to officials.
The carcasses of a buck and doe were discovered during the investigation, along with several other animals. This led investigators to believe this was not the first time Zuber had killed wildlife illegally.
“I would like to thank the Mesa County District Attorney’s Office for their hard work and dedication on this important case,” Chrisman stated in the press release. “Poachers who steal wildlife from law-abiding citizens will not be tolerated.”
CPW, the state agency responsible for managing 960 species of wildlife, says they will continue to hold violators accountable.
Poaching is the illegal taking or possession of any game, fish, or non-game wildlife. This includes hunting out-of-season or outside of the game management unit for which you have a valid license, hunting at night with a spotlight, or taking more animals over the legal limit.
Since 1981, Colorado’s Operation Game Thief has received more than 2,400 reports of poaching. If you see a poaching incident in Colorado, please call 1-877-COLO-OGT toll-free or e-mail game.thief@state.co.us. Rewards may be offered for information leading to the arrest of wildlife violators.
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