A 10-month investigation into a convicted felon with a long rap sheet in northwestern Oregon culminated in a recent indictment, the Oregon State Police reported on May 23. Norman Paul Jones will stand trial on May 25 after multiple search warrants turned up antlers, skulls, and other parts from 60 animals—57 deer, two elk, and an owl—as well as multiple illegally owned firearms.
It’s unclear how Jones came into possession of the wildlife parts. But OSP clarified that he was “unable to provide documentation” showing that the antlers and other parts were lawfully possessed.
Jones has racked up dozens of charges and convictions in Clackamas, Yamhill, and Clatsop counties since 1990. These range from felony drug charges to driving without insurance to exceeding the bag limit of razor clams. On June 23, 2022, the Oregon State Police executed a search warrant at his property after a separate search of a “co-conspirator” turned up evidence linking Jones to multiple instances of deer poaching. During the search of Jones’ residence, officers found a scoped Winchester Model 88 chambered in .308, and a scoped Marlin Model 550 .22 with a flashlight taped to the barrel. They also found the stockpile of parts from the five dozen animals, which they seized as evidence.
Case records show that the wildlife charges were filed on June 23, 2022. But Jones wasn’t arraigned until April 7, 2023, after a second search warrant turned up yet another firearm—this time a Savage Model 111 .300 Win Mag. Jones was booked in Clackamas County Jail. Five days later, a grand jury indicted him on 42 charges—38 counts of misdemeanor Unlawful Possession/Take Big Game Mammal and four felony counts of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. (An indictment is not the same thing as a conviction, and Jones is still considered innocent until proven guilty.)
This news comes a week after the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released information about a mother and son who were convicted of poaching two black bear cubs in nearby Lincoln County in October 2022. One month prior, a man poached a bull elk in eastern Oregon and left it to waste because he feared wolves. Another trio poached a 6×6 bull and a buck in late 2021.
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If all this poaching leaves a bad taste in your mouth for the Beaver State, there’s a bright spot to be found in Bend. Second-grader Wyatt Wismer is hanging posters around town encouraging people to turn in poachers as part of a school project, Central Oregon Daily News reports. In 2022, OSP tracked 234 instances of poached big game.