A 26-year-old Oregon man is headed to the slammer after being busted in what officials say is the largest deer poaching case in state history.
Last week Miguel Kennedy was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to counts of identity theft, second-degree forgery, unlawfully transferring hunting tags and racketeering, according to the Register Guard. His hunting privileges have been revoked for life.
Kennedy’s charges came after he was tied to a group of poachers who illegally killed about 300 deer between 2005 and 2010. They did so by buying tags under other people’s names and forging their signatures. Elk, black bears and antelope were also allegedly killed by the poaching ring.
Believe it or not, Kennedy actually got off fairly easily. Racketeering carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison in Oregon, but the district attorney handling the case went light on Kennedy in return for “truthful testimony” in the state’s case against the other alleged poachers.
In other words, Kennedy is going to rat on his alleged poaching buddies for a lighter sentence.
Also facing charges are Shane Donoho, Rory Edwin Donoho, Sandra L. Shaffer, Laura A. Donoho and Gerald Stanton Donoho, according to the Guard.