I normally only try to do dumb poacher recaps about once a season or so, but this story out of California was both unfortunate and unusual enough to warrant its own post.
According to a report from the Tahoe Daily Tribune, two Sacramento men were pulled over and arrested on Nov. 18 after concerned citizens called police to let them know that a tan SUV was speeding down the highway while blood dripped out of the car's doors.
After a local K-9 spotted and apprehended the car, Sheriff's deputies and CHP officers conducted a full-fledged search and detained the men. Officers eventually got the full story out of the accused poachers, and it's a doozy.
According to the report, the men, Scott Lee and Nai Saechao, allegedly poached a buck in a bit of road hunting, and threw the animal in the back of the SUV after it collapsed. The pair began heading home with their poached prize, when they ran into a little problem: the deer wasn't dead.
The shotgun wound they'd delivered hadn't finished the buck off, and he naturally wasn't very happy to come to in the back of an SUV. Either Lee or Saechao (it isn't specified) climbed into the back to put the animal down. It worked, but the damage was done. Blood from the altercation was splattered throughout the interior of the car, and it didn't take long for it to start leaking out of doors and any other opening it could find.
The poachers tried to hightail it home, but some keen eyed observers noticed the blood and the shifty behavior of both driver and passenger and called it in. Now they'll likely face a multitude of charges.
Next time, boys, make sure the deer's dead before you load it up in the back of the Toyota.
