Texas Man Raymond Muse Convicted For Poaching In Colorado
(CBS4) - A 50-year-old Texas man has been convicted for hunting illegally in the Evergreen and Conifer area and will pay fines of more than $50,000. Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced on Friday that Raymond Muse pleaded guilty earlier this month to a felony charge of willful destruction of wildlife. He is from Chireno, Texas, a town in East Texas.
CPW officials say the case broke when an Evergreen resident found a headless elk on their property. That triggered an extensive investigation into Muse's activities, which they learned about in part after getting a warrant to review photos and other information on a cellphone Muse left behind when he ran from police at the scene of an animal kill.
A Jefferson County judge sentenced muse to two years of probation and suspension of all hunting-related activities.
As part of their announcement, CPW shared a photo of an elk head mounted on a wall that they say Muse possessed. They said it is one of several animals he hunted for in Colorado illegally.
The poaching investigation revealed Muse would sometimes use a bicycle to ride to the locations where he did his hunts to draw less attention to himself.
"Many of the hunting locations that were identified were right under the noses or in the backyards of Conifer and Evergreen residents," officials with CPW wrote.
Two others who also hunted with Muse pleaded guilty to poaching charges and were fined $1,300.
CPW Wildlife Officer Scott Murdoch said cases like this jeopardize the "strong heritage" of legal hunting in Colorado.
"We investigate crimes like this both to protect the wildlife of the state, but also to protect the interests of legal and ethical hunters here in Colorado. That is really important. We have a strong heritage in Colorado of hunting, fishing and trapping, that is what pays for wildlife conservation, but only when it is done right," Murdoch said in a prepared statement.
