The "Great White Hunter" is Suspended for Life
By SGW Karlin Bailey

A Game Warden can look back on his career and certain arrests can stand out like a trophy buck on the wall. Some Wardens are blessed with a once in a lifetime case, a Boone and Crockett if you will. I just completed my 17th deer season with the Department and have such a case.

Four years ago, August 30, 2001 to be exact, the Sallisaw Police Department executed a search warrant on a residence for drugs. Their findings turned more than marijuana. As do a lot of warrants. They notified me of illegal wildlife at the residence, so I obtained another warrant for the wildlife, but I had no idea of the magnitude of this case.

At the residence was tons of evidence leading to illegal activities involving wildlife. Deer meat in the freezer, dated and what type. Artifacts hanging on the walls, and pictures. Miles of pictures. Pictures of the subject posing next to deer while holding his .22 mag. Pictures with the dates. Notes where the kills were logged. I must say it was quite time consuming piecing this case together, but he had done the documenting for me. And videos. He filmed his own hunting show. Although I've never seen this type of show on the Outdoor Channel. Most of these were at night.

 

After weeks of careful documentation and investigation, I filed 48 counts of illegal deer, 5 counts illegal bird of prey, and others to total 58 counts in all. Not to mention the drug charges the PD filed on him. Keep in mind I couldn't file on the wildlife beyond the statute of limitations. I had records dating back to the 80's. Speaking of that time period, this was not my first "run in" with this subject. Back in the late 80's I worked for Sallisaw PD and same story, different uniform. We served a warrant for drugs, found wildlife and contacted Warden Jim Young.

While my 2001 case was held up in legal system, our subject was still active. Being arrested for violations here and there, we now come to present date. Another search in 2005 produced more results. Warden Jerry Henry and I worked up another case and added it to the list. In our evidence we seized a picture frame filled with Polaroid pictures of him with his deer at the local check station. Written in between the photos was, "The Great White Hunter". We'll call him "Great White", G.W for short.

I spoke with the DA about the case and though we couldn't file on every deer we had in evidence, I did feel that we could establish a track record and say G.W has killed his lifetime worth of deer. So we asked for lifetime revocation of his hunting privileges. G.W. finally had his day in court. He pled guilty to 5 years suspended on the felony charges, 1 year suspended on the misdemeanors, total fines and cost of $1883.60, and lifetime revocation of his hunting privileges. All his activities took place in the early a.m., so the judge also hits him with a curfew. He cannot be out between the hours 12:00 and 5:00 a.m. G.W. is 43 years old.

My date of retirement will come faster than I'll want, and I'll reflect on a career that was spent in service to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife and the highlights thereof. And the Great White Hunter will always stand out.