• Warden Grove responded to assist a sheriff’s deputy in the Wonder Valley area. The deputy had stopped a local resident late one night who had been reported as illegally hunting on private property. After making the stop, the deputy noted fresh blood and deer hair in the bed of the suspect’s truck. Warden Grove, assisted by Lieutenant Cooper, arrived and questioned the suspect who stated the blood was from the heart and liver of a deer he had killed during the season. The suspect said he was returning from a friend’s house where they had shared the heart and liver for dinner. The story didn’t match the amount of blood and hair found in the truck, and the "friend" was contacted and denied having dinner with the suspect. Warden Grove took samples of the blood and deer hair as well as some bloodstained clothing from the suspect. The deer carcass was not located. A formal complaint is pending with the District Attorney based upon lab analysis of the evidence. The suspect was booked into county jail by the deputy for driving under the influence of alcohol.

• Warden H. Spada cited a subject found to be in possession of buck-shot and rifled slugs during the band-tailed pigeon opener. An interesting side note to this incident is the fact that a very large number of deer have moved into the lower areas where this subject was encountered.

• Warden Rutherford received a call from a landowner about numerous shots being fired near his property in Stanislaus County. Suspecting duck hunting activity, he responded to the location. A short time after arriving at the property, he located the first man. Due to a language barrier, it was difficult at first to determine what species he was hunting. After examining the immediate area, Warden Rutherford determined that this was not a typical game law violator. On the ground were gulls, cormorants, egrets, a hawk and a great blue heron. Eventually, Wardens Miller and Blake arrived to assist in the investigation. Two additional game law violators and the evidence were gathered. In all, the three men took 27 non-game birds — the subjects did not take a legal bird. Each man was issued citations for joint possession, and they were relieved of their shotguns and lead shot. The case is pending with the circuit prosecutor.

• A Cal-TIP case reported to Wardens Naslund and Arnold involving the take of an out-of-season deer was recently adjudicated. The citizen reporting the violation had very limited information about a dog running down a private property dirt road carrying a deer’s ear in its mouth. A suspect was apprehended and cited into court, which resulted in a guilty plea and a fine of $1,350.