A Washington woman has pled guilty to helping three juveniles poach more than 100 deer across three counties. She faced several misdemeanor counts related to the case.
37-year-old Jessica Kroening pled guilty to illegally shining the animals and to intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child. Meanwhile, three minors are also facing charges related to the poaching incident. This comes after a foul smell brought police out to the residence. They found four deer heads in a garbage bag. She denied knowing what the heads were.
However, Kroening's partner told police a juvenile at the residence had been killing deer for more than a year with help from another minor.
"Juvenile 2 stated that he and Juvenile 1 have been going around and shooting deer at night with a spotlight and a rifle for approximately one year. Juvenile 2 stated that they always used the defendant's vehicle to go out shooting deer. He stated that they use firearms owned by Juvenile 1's family. Juvenile 2 also stated that the defendant is aware of them shooting deer and has been on the phone with them while they are out doing it. He also stated that the defendant and others have accompanied them to shoot deer," the complaint states.
Deer Poaching Case
Upon talking to a third minor, they admitted to participating in poaching the animals. They admitted to shooting three whitetails while the others cut off the head of the animals. Kroenig admitted to helping the teens poach.
"She stated that she was in the rear driver's seat while the juvenile was in the driver's seat. The defendant stated that Juvenile 1 held the firearm between his leg and the center console by the driver's seat. She stated that from the backseat, she held the spotlight while Juvenile 1 shot out of the front driver's seat. The defendant stated that after the deer was killed, Juvenile 1 drove her home and picked up Juvenile 2 to go retrieve the deer. She stated that the two boys waited about three hours to retrieve the deer so they would not get caught," the complaint states.
Police found "a bloody steak knife, a bloody wooden saw, a bloody Milwaukee brand spotlight, three bloody floormats, a .22 caliber bullet, and two bloody pocket knives" in Kroenig's car.
