Montana Poachers Busted for Bull-Elk and Hatchery-Rainbow Slaughters

It all began in August of 2021 when wardens discovered that someone had hopped the fence into a display pond at the Giant Springs Fish Hatchery and stabbed a handful of monster rainbows. Some of the fish were dead and others were wounded and later euthanized by hatchery staff.

Separately, about a month later, in mid-September, wardens received a tip from a local rancher near Great Falls that somebody had shot a bull elk on his property, removed the head and antlers, and left the rest to waste. While investigating the scene, the landowner informed the warden that a neighboring ranch had caught a young male, allegedly Ty Lewis, trespassing earlier in the week.

At the time, Lewis was residing in a group home and wardens caught up with him at friend Richard Van Meter’s house. They interviewed Lewis in a patrol car and learned that he had shot an elk on the Taft Ranch and removed the head. Lewis also told wardens that Van Meter had killed a bull as well, also in September, and also with a rifle (September is archery-only season in Montana for bull elk). They’d stashed the antlers from the first bull in a patch of trees and those from the second bull in an abandoned cabin. Lewis claimed that neither he nor Van Meter had their phones on them at the time.

In a similar timeframe, wardens interviewed Van Meter twice, who confirmed that two bulls had been shot. However, he claimed that Lewis had shot them both and that the antlers were all stashed in the abandoned cabin. Neither of the men had a hunting license.

About a week later, in early October, wardens obtained a search warrant for the abandoned cabin, from which they retrieved two bull elk skulls and antlers. One was a 4x6, and the other was a 6x6. The wardens also obtained a search warrant for Van Meter’s apartment and confiscated a .270 Winchester rifle that they believed was used to kill both elk.

A few days later, wardens interviewed another individual who was tangentially involved and thought to have been present when the second elk was killed. Following his description, wardens located the remains of the elk on the Taft Ranch. Nearby, they found another dead elk, with the antlers still attached to the carcass.

In the following days, wardens interviewed several other people, including a woman who was previously in a relationship with Lewis, who claimed to have witnessed Lewis and Van Meter committing wildlife crimes. She mentioned that she had seen pictures of the two men at the hatchery display pond. From another person, they also learned that Van Meter and Lewis had killed four elk but only taken the heads off two of them.

Wardens then obtained a search warrant for Van Meter’s phone and retrieved photographs off it showing pictures of several dead elk—including one photo of Lewis stabbing a bull after he and Van Meter ran out of bullets. There was also a photo of Van Meter with a poached black bear, which he admitted to having shot on the same day as one of the illegal elk hunts. The wardens also found photos of the two men with a stringer of dead trout and another picture showing someone wading through the hatchery display pond.

Furthermore, acting on additional information from social media searches, wardens located the remains of a third dead bull elk in March of 2022, close to the other two carcasses on the Taft Ranch. Another acquaintance wardens interviewed said he’d seen Snapchat pictures of Lewis and Van Meter with around ten different dead elk, all over a similar time frame.

However, wardens already had more than enough evidence to prosecute the two men. Last month, they were convicted of multiple wildlife crimes, including unlawful possession of a game animal, unlawful possession of a game fish, waste of a game animal, waste of a game fish, and hunting without a valid license. Lewis paid $16,000 in fines, and Van Meter paid $8,000. Both will lose their hunting and fishing privileges for 20 years.

It’s easy to forget about the work that wardens do to protect our wildlife resources, and as this case shows, it ain’t easy, and it ain’t quick. As always, sportsmen can help by reporting tips to local law enforcement. Small tips could make the difference between securing convictions and letting poachers continue to roam free.