Solved Operation Game Thief Cases
File a secure and anonymous report online to earn rewards when you help us solve these cold cases. Visit the main Operation Game Thief page to learn more about this New Mexico Department of Game and Fish program, which pays citizens who turn in poachers.
State Supreme Court upholds $74,000 restitution owed in poaching case
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: 888-248-6866Media contact, Ryan Darr: 505-476-8027ryan.darr@dgf.nm.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 15, 2022: State Supreme Court upholds $74,000 restitution owed in poaching case SANTA FE – [...]
Solved Cases Archive
State Supreme Court upholds $74,000 restitution owed in poaching case
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Public contact, Information Center: 888-248-6866Media contact, Ryan Darr: 505-476-8027ryan.darr@dgf.nm.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SEPT. 15, 2022: State Supreme Court upholds $74,000 restitution owed in poaching case SANTA FE – Earlier this year, the Supreme Court of the State of New Mexico upheld a Court of Appeals judgement, which ordered Cody W. Davis of Arnegard, North Dakota. to pay $74,000 in restitution to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (department) for poaching a trophy mule deer buck in December 2015. This civil restitution included $20,000 for [...]
Case solved thanks to Operation Game Thief call
SANDOVAL COUNTY - On December 07, 2015 an anonymous caller reported that Dalton Strain from Jemez Springs had poached a 5x5 mule deer buck out of season. The caller provided pictures of the deer and a possible location to find the remains. NMDGF Officers investigated and upon serving a search warrant on Strain’s residence they found the skull, cape, and meat of the deer in Mr. Strain’s possession. Mr. Strain confessed to killing the deer illegally and was charged with hunting without a license, unlawful killing the deer out of season, and unlawful [...]
Case of antelope poached in Hidalgo County solved
HIDALGO COUNTY - On October 10, 2015, Operation Game Thief took a report of a pronghorn antelope which had been poached near the Virden/Red Rock area on Highway 92. Sergeant Derek Theobald investigated the incident. During the investigation Justin Beck claimed to have hit the antelope with his truck, and had Jamie Housley shoot the antelope because it had a broken back. Sergeant Theobald found no evidence to support their claim that the antelope had been struck by any vehicle. They then called Lawrence Yeomans to assist in field dressing and butchering the [...]
Case of poached Coues white-tailed deer solved
CATRON COUNTY - On November 9, 2015 an OGT report was filed of two Coues white-tailed deer in the bed of a pickup truck. Sergeant Derek Theobald investigated and found Daniel Bueno and Ted Garcia in possession of the illegal deer, one Coues white-tailed deer each. Both Bueno and Garcia had licenses for a mule deer only not a white-tail, and were charged and convicted of killing deer other than the specified bag limit and unlawful possession of deer in open season. The men paid a total of $1,600 in fines and the illegal deer [...]
Solved! Operation Game Thief catches poacher
FORT SUMNER - Lisa Ulibarri was found guilty found of the unlawful killing of a deer in closed season with the assistance of artificial light on January 28, 2016 at Fort Sumner in De Baca County. Officer Jerry Pohl investigated the reported violation in collaboration with the De Baca County Sheriff’s Office. Ulibarri admitted to killing the spiked buck while hunting rabbits at night. She stated she started off by shooting at rabbits using a spotlight and saw the deer in the field, and then decided to shoot at them. She stated she was a [...]
New Mexico Operation Game Thief helps catch deer poachers
JEMEZ SPRINGS – Darryl Vigil and Clifford Vigil were found guilty of poaching a 5 x 5 mule deer buck with a 30-06 rifle while cutting fuelwood Nov. 29, 2015, in the Santa Fe National Forest off Forest Road 10 in Paliza Canyon. Corporal Shawn Carrell investigated the reported violation, and collaboration with Jemez Pueblo Officers resulted in the voluntary confession and seizure of the 5 x 5 mule deer skull, packages of meat, remaining deer parts and the photograph of the poached deer. The Vigils were ordered by Sandoval County Magistrate Judge [...]
Operation game thief tip helps catch oryx poacher
ALAMOGORDO - A California man was found guilty on March 20, 2014 of unlawful hunting or fishing, and hunting game or fish with a license unlawfully procured. The crime was reported to Game and Fish officers through the Operation Game Thief hotline. The Operation Game Thief call was received in Feb. of 2014. The caller claimed that a California resident, later identified as Gary Murphy, 64 years of age, shot and killed an Oryx on White Sands Missile Range with a New Mexico Resident hunting license. Alamogordo District Officer, Marcelino Peralta, initiated an [...]
Solved! Spike Deer Poached Near Jal
JAL- Game and Fish Officers solved the recent suspected poaching case involving a spike mule deer. Operation Game Thief received a call from a concerned citizen who reported finding a spike mule deer carcass. That information was passed on to a Department officer who found the carcass dumped at the end of South 6th street in Jal. All of the edible portions of meat had been removed from the carcass and the hide and attached head had been dumped. Spike deer are not legal for harvest in New Mexico; legal bucks must [...]
Solved! OGT tip helps catch poacher
CHAMA - A Chama man was found guilty on September 9, 2014, of unlawful killing and possession of a turkey. The crime was reported to Game and Fish officers through the Operation Game Thief hotline. The Operation Game Thief call was received in Feb. of 2014, and claimed that a Chama resident, later identified as James Ulibarri, shot a turkey out of season with a rifle in downtown Chama. Chama District Officer, Mark Bundren, initiated an investigation into the illegal killing and possession. When Officer Bundren questioned Ulibarri about the incident, he admitted [...]
Solved! Endangered Gila Monster Seized
SILVER CITY - Two men have been convicted and fined after Department of Game and Fish Conservation Officers discovered a Gila Monster in their possession. Conservation Officers received a tip through Operation Game Thief that Wyatt Hoy, 22 had a Gila Monster in his home. The Gila Monster is one of rarest reptiles in the state and is an endangered species in New Mexico, making it illegal to possess. On Dec. 14, 2013, in cooperation with local parole officers, Officer Adan Jacquez and Corporal James Pengelly did a parole check of Hoy’s residence [...]
Operation Game Thief tip leads to the seizure of more than a thousand trout
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Media contact: Rachel Shockley, (505) 476-8071; cell: (505) 470-6832 Public contact: (888) 248-6866 rachel.shockley@state.nm.us FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 14, 2014 OPERATION GAME THIEF TIP LEADS TO THE SEIZURE OF MORE THAN A THOUSAND TROUT CLOVIS – After receiving a tip from a concerned citizen, Department of Game and Fish Conservation Officers found and seized more than 1,600 rainbow trout, more than 160 times the legal possession limit, in a Clovis home Saturday, May 10. The tip came through the department’s anonymous tip line, Operation Game Thief. [...]
Solved! OGT Call Leads to Charges against Deer Hunter
FT. SUMNER – Wayne “Jessie” Small, of Portales, New Mexico was charged with several counts following the unlawful killing of a mule deer buck. The case originated from a call to Operation Game Thief, by a concerned citizen who had seen the buck shot by an individual in a Ford pickup. The incident occurred on January 19, 2013 when according to the witness someone in a tan/brown Ford pickup shot and killed a buck mule deer in a field approximately 4 miles south of US 60/84 near Ft. Sumner. The pickup left the [...]
Solved! Tip to Operation Game Thief Leads to Conviction against Turkey Hunter
TORRANCE - Thomas P. Romero, age 52, of Pecos, New Mexico was found guilty of unlawful hunting and possession of a turkey. The case originated from an anonymous tip to the Operation Game Thief hotline by a witness who had seen Romero shoot a turkey on Highway 54 north of Corona. The incident occurred on April 28, 2013 when, according to Romero, he accidentally hit a turkey that was crossing the highway. Romero killed the turkey, tagged it and took it to his home in Pecos. A witness said that he talked to [...]
Solved! San Felipe Man Ordered to Pay Fines for Killing a Spike Deer and Turkey
MORIARTY (02/05/2014) - An Operation Game Thief call lands a San Felipe man with fines and community service after he killed an illegal spike deer and turkey in Game Management Unit 38 near Corona New Mexico. On Nov. 7, 2013, Conservation Officer John Martsh received an anonymous Operation Game Thief report stating that while hunting in the Red Cloud area, James Valencia, born June 13, 1982, shot and killed a spike deer and turkey. The caller stated that Valencia loaded the deer carcass in his SUV in a hidden storage compartment underneath the [...]
Solved! Two Fishermen Issued Citations for Exceeding the Bag Limit Of Trout
ABIQUIU - Two men were issued citations for exceeding the bag limit of trout on December 19, 2013, after an individual called Operation Game Thief to alert Game and Fish Officers. Sergeant Brady Griffith responded to a stretch of the Chama River below Abiquiu Lake to investigate a call to the Operation Game Thief hotline. The caller said that two men below Abiquiu Lake on the Chama River were exceeding the bag limit of trout. The two men were contacted and both admitted to fishing, but told Sergeant Griffith that they had only [...]