What started as a tip about an illegally killed four-point buck ended with three people charged and sentenced with illegally killing 26 deer in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The poachers left the deer to rot in the fall of 2022, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. After being sentenced, they have been collectively banned from hunting for more than 100 years.
Michael T. Matson Jr., 21, and Angelica S. Morgan, 19, both from Bolivar, and Chase Piper, 20, from Derry Township, were captured and charged after an anonymous tip led to the execution of five search warrants. The warrants turned up a Rossi .22 caliber rimfire rifle, venison, antlers, and cell phone records.
The head of the investigation, game warden Bill Brehun, said that the "killing spree was pretty much all of October and November of 2022." Many of the deer were killed in Fairfield and St. Clair townships.
"We started getting a couple of phone calls from the public about shots being fired at night," said Brehun to the Tribune Democrat, "and that just kind of led into some information about an illegal four-point that was killed. A couple of interviews were done with that and more information was provided that we were able to apply and get a search warrant approved."
The animals were shot and left to waste, and all of them were shot by a .22 caliber gun, typically used for squirrel-hunting and smaller game. In Pennsylvania, it is illegal to harvest deer with a .22.
"It was definitely a very time-intensive investigation, but larger cases like this deserve the time because it really positively affects the locals and people who hunt in and around that area, and this is the type of case that really makes a positive impact on the wildlife resource," said Brehun, concluding that it was the "largest case" he's had in the 12 years he's worked for the department.
Cell phone records led to some fruitful interviews and further evidence. Ultimately, Piper and Morgan received six months probation and will have to pay $1,600 in fines for killing five and two deer, respectively. Matson pleaded guilty to firearm possession and will serve one to two years in state prison on the gun charge, and one to two years for each one of the 15 poached deer.
Due to prior charges, Matson was not allowed to have a firearm. A judge ruled that his hunting license will be suspended for 75 years. Piper will be suspended from hunting for 25 year and Morgan for 10 years. Poaching don't pay.
READ MORE: What Happens to Fish and Game That Gets Confiscated From Poachers?
