In July 2000, a man was bowhunting for deer during the archery-only season on the Upper Cottonwood Wildlife Area in Merced County. The witness heard what he thought were gun shots and then saw four men with rifles hunting on the area. The witness told the Fish & Game dispatcher that the men were "shooting at anything." During July, deer and pigs may be taken from the wildlife area with archery equipment only — no firearms are allowed. The witness used his cellular phone to call CalTIP.

Merced County Warden Sean Olague was on patrol when he received the call. Maintaining constant communication with the witness, Olague was able to located the suspects’ vehicle at one of the wildlife area parking lots. The warden found a place of concealment and waited for the suspects to return.

The witness (who had been able to maintain visual contact with the suspects) called Warden Olague and advised him that the men were on their way out. As the group returned to the parking lot, they were confronted by the warden. Olague recovered three rifles and two handguns from them and then asked to inspect the contents of a backpack that one of the men had been carrying. Olague found a quartered deer carcass in the pack.

Only two of the suspects had hunting licenses and pig tags. One of the men told the warden that the carcass in the pack was not a deer. It was a pig. The warden pointed out to him that the "pig" carcass was covered with deer hair. When asked if the deer was a buck or a doe, the men stated that it was a spike buck.

All four were cited for taking deer illegally and for hunting license violations. All four were found guilty in the Merced Court and they paid a total of more than $1,500 in fines. All five guns were forfeited to the court.

In January 2001, a witness in Tuolumne County called CalTIP and reported a deer poaching violation. The witness gave a description of the suspect's vehicle, including the license. The plate number came back to a local Sonora resident.

Tuolumne County warden Josh Nicholas and warden John Winings responded to the call accompanied by deputies from the Sheriff’s Office. The officers went to the suspect's house and found him outside washing out the back of his pickup truck. When asked where the deer was, he stated it was at his friend’s house. Before leaving, Warden Nicholas asked to search the premises and the man agreed. In his freezer, the warden found numerous packages of deer meat. His bloodstained clothing was seized as evidence. While the warden searched the house, the deputies discovered that he had a no-bail arrest warrant outstanding from Calaveras County. He was subsequently arrested and taken to jail.

The wardens then went to the friend's home in Soulsbyville. Although nobody was home, the officers saw an antlered deer hanging in the backyard. When the suspect arrived home a short time later, he stated "I know what this is about . . . it’s about the road-killed deer that ..... and I picked up." Upon interrogation however, he told a different story. He told the wardens that they had shot a deer earlier in the day and he gave the wardens consent to search the premises.

Inside the house, Warden Nicholas found a quantity of deer antlers and 11 packages of deer meat. The man stated that some was from a road-killed deer and some was from poached deer. He then told the officer that the last "legal deer" he had killed was in 1996. He then went on to say that he and the first man had been out earlier in the day target shooting with their .22 rifles. They decided to kill a deer. The pair located a deer standing on private property and shot it. The deer was only wounded so his companion went after it with a roofing ax and killed it. He then took the warden to the site where the deer had been killed and showed him the drag marks.

In subsequent interviews with the two culprits, both accused each other of poaching deer at various times during the year. They were charged with the unlawful take of a deer, use of a .22 rifle and hunter trespass. Both appeared in the Tuolumne Superior Court and were found guilty. The first man was fined $2500 and placed on three years probation during which time he cannot hunt. The second man was ordered to pay a fine of $3500 and was also put on three years probation.