Cal's Poaching Desk: Chicago Angler Shot Multiple Times in the Face

Thou Shalt Not Brandish

An Alabama man has been charged with two misdemeanors after he used a shotgun to confront two anglers who were fishing from a boat in front of his dock.

Sixty-six-year old Ronald Morgan was charged with interfering with hunting or fishing along with a second charge of “menacing,” according to local media. The confrontation occurred back in March during the Fisher’s of Men bass fishing tournament on Millers Ferry.

One of the anglers, Chris Pope, took a video of the confrontation, during which Morgan holds a shotgun and tells Pope he needs to “go somewhere else.” Pope responds, correctly, that the lake is public property, and things devolve from there.

“You’re a damn fool! What Lord are you talking about? If you knew anything, you wouldn’t try to be coveting someone else’s property,” Morgan says, referring to one of the Ten Commandments. “That’s number 10, by the way. You’re a pitiful excuse of a human being. Don’t trespass on my property again.”

If Morgan gets the maximum sentence for both charges, he’s looking at nine months in jail and a $3,500 fine.

Gangland: Fish Edition

Speaking of fishermen and firearms, an angler in Chicago was shot multiple times in the face after being asked about his gang affiliation, which is just about the most Chicago fishing story I can imagine.

Local media reports that Luis Franchi III was fishing with his brothers on the North Branch of the Chicago River earlier this month. They were headed back to their car around 10:30 pm when they were confronted by several men who asked which gang they were in.

Franchi's mother, Melissa Torres, said her son claimed not to belong to any gang, which is when the men opened fire on the car in which the boys were sitting.

The brothers ran away to a nearby McDonald’s, where they were picked up by an ambulance. The 23-year-old angler miraculously survived multiple shots to the face, but doctors believe he may lose his eyesight in his left eye.

His mother reports that Fanchi was a dedicated angler who would travel across the city to different ponds and lakes to try to catch the biggest fish. Police have not confirmed Torres’s account of the incident, but they did say that Franchi has no criminal record.

Lifetime Ban

A man in Ontario has been banned from hunting for life after conservation officers discovered 91 grouse in his home, which is 76 over the legal possession limit.

Allan Pascoe of Cobalt, Ontario, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing an over-limit of grouse and obstructing conservation officers, according to the province’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Pascoe kept officers from entering his home for over an hour. When they finally gained entry, they found two large boxes of frozen grouse “hidden” in the shower.

Who says poachers never get what’s coming to them?

Triple Hit and Run

Here’s a sad story out of Minnesota. Twenty-year-old Casey Meadows has been issued fines totaling $1,800 after conservation officers say he hit three deer with his truck on purpose.

All three deer had to be put down by the retired police officer who first arrived on the scene. He told local media that bystanders were crying and upset to see the deer injured and struggling. The Ely Police Chief said that his department is seeking additional charges of animal cruelty and reckless driving.

Pakistani Poacher

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is handing out multiple charges to a Pakistani outfitter and a California hunter for attempting to smuggle an endangered sheep trophy into the U.S.

Forty-nine-year-old Jason Keith Bruce of Galt, California, secured the services of a hunting guide in Pakistan named Pir Danish Ali to hunt a Ladakh urial, according to the DOJ. Urials are a type of sheep native to central Asia. They’re listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and they’re also included on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s list of endangered foreign animals.

Bruce paid Pir $50,000 to kill a urial in Pakistan, and the two bribed officials to export the animal out of the country. Bruce carried the mount along with seven other trophies from his hunting trip in his baggage when he flew into the San Francisco International Airport.

Customs officials seized the urial in the airport, and prosecutors say Bruce lied to Fish and Wildlife Service agents about the mount. He also tried to pass off the sheep as a different species and gave wildlife service agents forged documents supposedly from officials in Pakistan.

The two men have been charged with conspiracy, and they face a maximum $250,000 fine. Bruce has also been charged with smuggling and violating the Endangered Species Act, and he’s looking at an additional 21 years in prison and a $300,000 fine.

“By Mistake”

Speaking of jail time, an Oregon man will spend 10 days in jail, forfeit his rifle, and pay $440 in fines for shooting a bull elk and leaving it to rot.

Forty-two-year-old Cody Murrill told investigators that he planned to poach a cow elk and harvest the meat, but he shot a 5x6 bull in near darkness by mistake. He planned to come back that night to field dress the animal, but the carcass was partially scavenged and he was afraid of wolves in the area.

He returned the next day to take the antlers home (because, remember, he was only interested in the meat), but his saw broke and he abandoned the project altogether.

A licensed hunter stumbled upon the carcass and reported it. Troopers investigating the crime were able to identify Murrill’s truck using footage from game cameras in the area, and the tipster was rewarded with four hunter preference points.

Decoy Duped

Oregon jails are filled with poachers, apparently, because another man from the Beaver State will be spending time behind bars following a two-year investigation.

Albert Lampert was convicted of 21 misdemeanors related to criminal trespass and wildlife violations. The Oregon State Police said in a press release that he was caught in a decoy operation in which troopers set up a fake elk along the side of the road as part of the state’s anti-poaching campaign. That incident led to a search of Lampert’s residence.

He will spend 30 days in jail, and he received five years of probation where he cannot be hunting, in the woods with a centerfire rifle, or be with anyone who is hunting.

Megadeth Distress

“Cal’s Week in Review” listener Dale Maenke sent me a clipping from a conservation officer’s report in Waconia, Minnesota.

I suppose that when your mom kicks you out of the basement, the local wildlife management area is as good a place as any to keep your metal head dreams alive. Either that, or he was working on his owl hoots and not having much success.

Feature image via ABC 7 News.