Conservation Wildlife Management

Vermont Poaching Bust Exposes Father, Son, and Grandfather

The youngest of three generations faces 18 criminal charges for illegally killing seven whitetail deer and a black bear. His grandfather faces an additional five
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vermont whitetail buck in field

The poacher killed four bucks in less than a month. tomreichner / Adobe Stock

Twenty-one-year-old Logan Bogie of East Ryegate, Vermont, faces 18 criminal charges for allegedly poaching seven deer and a black bear with a suspended hunting license in October and November 2022. He’s also not the only Bogie man in trouble for the illegal killings, most of which took place in the middle of the night and involved Bogie firing a crossbow from the cab of a Chevy truck.

His grandfather, Calvin Bogie Jr., 72, faces five charges related to the multiple instances when he allegedly tagged and checked in deer that Logan illegally shot. On two separate occasions, Logan shot bucks in the middle of the night and drove them home with the help of his buddy Wyatt Roy, 18. Logan then woke his grandpa up to tag the deer, which he checked in the next morning, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department game warden William Seegers’ affidavit, which OL acquired from the Caledonia County Court.

Logan’s father, Calvin Bogie III, 50, also tagged and checked in one poached buck, for which he was assessed a $1,444 fine and 20 points against his license, according to court documents. Roy tagged and checked in a doe, two bucks, and the black bear, although the penalties and charges filed against him are unknown.

When Logan began the poaching spree, he already had a suspended hunting and fishing license from a prior poaching conviction. He shot one doe on October 4, 2022, then another on October 16. Between Oct. 20 and Nov. 12, Logan shot three eight-point bucks and a seven-pointer. He rounded out the season by poaching and transporting a fifth buck from Monroe, New Hampshire, which his father illegally tagged. Logan used a crossbow to kill each of those deer. He also shot a black bear with a Weatherby Vanguard in 6.5 Creedmoor behind his dad’s old house, although it’s unclear when that bear was killed.

Seegers became aware of these incidents in April, when he executed a search warrant related to Logan’s prior poaching conviction. He got access to Logan’s cell phone during the search.

“On the device, I located evidence of poaching of seven deer,” Seegers wrote in his affidavit. “The observed pattern was that Logan and Wyatt would shoot deer at night, known as jacking, and subsequently tag and report the deer, claiming that the time of death was during legal hunting hours after the actual harvest time.”

Some of Logan’s excuses for shooting all these deer in the middle of the night included being angry at an ex-girlfriend and an inability to resist the temptation, Seegers wrote in his affidavit. 

Citing the evidence found on Logan’s phone, investigators executed additional search warrants at the homes of Bogie Jr., Bogie III, and Roy. At Bogie Jr.’s house, they seized 67 packages of venison, his 2015 Chevrolet Silverado, and a rifle as evidence. They also seized 57 packages of venison and a 2004 Chevrolet truck from Roy’s home.

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In one particularly disturbing find, Seegers discovered videos on Logan’s phone that showed him and Roy bringing the eight-point buck he shot on Oct. 30 back to Calvin Jr.’s house while the buck was still alive. Logan is seen “petting the deer and saying ‘Good boy’ as if it were a dog or other pet,” and the deer was “panting, likely with some type of spinal trauma,” Seegers wrote. He estimated that the deer was alive for at least half an hour before it was dispatched.

The defendants were arraigned Monday in Caledonia County Court. Logan faces up to $18,000 in fines and 20 months in prison if convicted of all charges and served the maximum sentence. His grandfather faces a $5,000 fine and 120 days in prison.