Tram Trail Trio

By Jay Harvey

On November 11, 2005 numerous third district Wardens were working an aircraft assignment in Pushmataha and Choctaw counties in southeastern Oklahoma. SGW Shane Fields was in the plane working as the spotter and radio man. Fields spotted two ATVs spotlighting north of Rattan in an area known as the Tram Trail. Wardens Eric Barnes, Jay Harvey, and Dru Polk were in the area and headed in the direction the ATVs were shining. After several minutes of driving up winding, dusty roads, the three Wardens mere in the area. Fields saw the ATVs stop at the edge of a large clearcut, and he observed a small light leave the road and go out into the cut. Fields told us by radio he thought the men had shot something and were out looking for it. Soon the Wardens were positioned to block the two roads the vehicles would come down. Polk and Harvey were blocking one road, and Barnes was at the other. Polk and Harvey looked up the road and in the dim moonlight they could see two four-wheelers coming down the road towards them. The front ATV was using a flashlight to see the road. Polk and Harvey began easing up the road and positioning their trucks to block the road if the ATVs tried to run. As they approached, the Wardens turned on their headlights and red lights to stop the vehicles. The lead ATV tried to go around Polk, but he maneuvered his truck to block their path. As soon as the two ATVs stopped, both Wardens exited their trucks to make contact. As the Wardens got out, a man on the back of the lead four-wheeler jumped off and ran into the clearcut. The Wardens quickly disarmed the other three men, and then Harvey went into the clearcut looking for the man who fled. The several minute head start allowed the man to escape capture at that time.

Warden Barnes quickly arrived and all three men were placed into custody. Two chamber loaded rifles were unloaded, and each ATV had a fawn deer strapped on it. As Harvey approached the front ATV he saw the small deer on the front rack raise its head. " Dru, look at this! This deer is still alive!" Harvey exclaim The deer had been shot through both front legs and in the haste to get away the poachers had failed to put it out of misery. Harvey dispatched the deer with a knife and 1 bleed out in the road. All three men were from the Houston Texas area, and they claimed the man who ran off, known only to them as Toby, was their guide on this hunt. They said they didn't even know where they were and they told us a wild tale of the day's events leading up to their capture.

The men and their equipment were transported to Antlers where they were released and the equipment taken to secure storage at Hugo WMA We agreed to meet the men the next day and if they could post a cash bond they would be released to go home. All three men agreed to do so and to plead guilty to four charges each. We wrote citations for hunting w/o a license, spotlighting, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, and illegal possession of a whitetail deer. We questioned the men at length to obtain more information on Toby's identification, but the men didn't give us his name. They did, however, give us several clues that would eventually lead us the to the fourth man.

The next day Wardens Barnes, Allan Couch, Harvey and Polk met the men. They had miraculously obtained their truck, trailer, and all the camping gear the night before they had no idea how to find. At this point the questioning become more pointed and the men tried to lie some more. Soon the men gave us enough information we thought we could find Toby. The men posted cash bond they had gotten from their families via wire transfer. Each man gave us $1833.60, signed guilty pleas, and promised to never return to Oklahoma. Their equipment was returned and the men left.

The four Wardens returned to Antlers and began tracking down their fugitive. We went north of Antlers and turned down the One Creek Valley road. Warden Barnes had talked to a man at the motel the men had stayed at, and he told us he had given them a ride up the road to a white house at the end of a road. We followed his directions as soon a white house loomed before us. Parked in the front the house was a brown pickup. One of our poachers told us he thought Toby drove a brown truck. A 10-28 run on the tag and guess what? The tag came back to a Toby $&*% from Antlers! We soon located Toby in the back yard. T. Polk and Harvey both recognized the man, and he had several scratches in his face and arms. At first, Toby denied involvement. As Harvey and Polk led Toby to their trucks, Harvey found a brand new spotlight package lying near Toby's truck. It matched one of the lights recovered night before form the ATV Toby bailed off of. Harvey showed this to Polk, and when Toby saw it, he ducked head. Toby was Mirandized, advised of the charges he facing, and also told of the information obtained from hunting partners. The only thing Toby asked us admitting guilt to all charges was if the men said he killed deer. When we told him no, he seemed relieved. T wrote out a voluntary statement, pled guilty to charges, and was given his court date.

In all, the four men involved in this incident paid a of $7184.40 in fines and costs. The Tram Trail Trio and sidekick Toby had killed two fawns that were given needy family, and were caught using the airplane and ough investigative techniques. This night in November typical in SE Oklahoma. As long as spotlighters are looking for something to kill, Oklahoma Game Wardens will have their stingers out, too.