Las Vegas man pleads guilty in Lander County antelope killing
A Las Vegas man pled guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of killing an antelope illegally in Lander County on July 21 and was sentenced to three years of probation, a year of jail time (suspended), fined more than $4500 in civil and criminal penalties and forfeited a .300 caliber Winchester rifle used in the crime.
James M. Cummings, 27 pled guilty in 11th Judicial District Court of Lander County in Battle Mountain to a gross misdemeanor for an incident that happened on April 2 of last year when he shot an antelope on state route 305 between Battle Mountain and Austin. Cummings will also lose all hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for five years.
“This was a blatant act of poaching,” said Tyler Turnipseed, Nevada’s chief game warden. “Cummings stole this animal from the people of Nevada. It was shot out of season, with no tag and no hunting license. There is no excuse for this kind of crime, and I’m delighted our investigation led to a successful prosecution.”
According to the completed investigation, Cummings shot the antelope between Austin and Battle Mountain, gutted it somewhere nearby and then transported it to a motel in Battle Mountain. Once there, Cummings and an accomplice began to butcher the animal in the bathtub of the motel room.
Late into the evening on April 3, Lander County deputies were called to the motel, because of a “strong odor of marijuana” noticed near the room where Cummings was staying. Once local law enforcement contacted the men and gained access to the room, they saw the antelope carcass and called game wardens to investigate. Subsequent investigations led to criminal charges for Cummings.
“We knew almost immediately that this was an illegal killing,” said Lt. Fred Esparza, supervising game warden in Elko. “We weren’t even close to legitimate hunting season and the facts around the case were suspicious from the first moment. Never in my career have I seen a legitimate sportsman butcher anything in a hotel bathtub. This just goes to show how thoughtless and callous some people can be when it comes to wildlife crime.”
Cummings was not alone during the incident and charges are pending for another person who was involved in the case. NDOW will announce the outcome of that criminal complaint once it has been processed through the court system.
“While we won’t comment on any pending cases, we feel satisfied with the plea agreement and final outcome reached with Mr. Cummings. This was a thoughtless and unnecessary crime, and I hope the young man thinks better of his actions in the future,” said Hy Forgeron, the Lander County deputy district attorney.
NDOW has also recorded a podcast with Esparza talking in detail about the case that will be available on Nevadawild.org on Friday morning for people interested in more details about the case.
Shooting a big game animal without a valid tag is a potential felony crime, often referred to as poaching. Game wardens often depend on tips from the public to solve crimes that are far from cities and other communities. Concerned sportsmen and citizens can always call the operation game thief hotline at (800) 992-3030 to report any wildlife crime.
Nevada’s 31 field-level game wardens patrol more than 110,567 square miles of Nevada, responding to boat accidents, search and rescue operations, investigating wildlife crimes of all kinds and general public safety as needed. Members of the public can follow Turnipseed on twitter for periodic updates to cases and wildlife crime-related news @Chief_GW_NV.
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