Three Missouri men have been sentenced in connection with the illegal killing of a bull elk.
According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, Michael K. O’Neail of De Soto pled guilty on September 3 to illegally killing and abandoning a bull elk. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and required to pay a $10,000 fine.
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They say the 60-day jail term has been suspended pending successful completion of two years of probation and full payment of the $10,000 fine within one year of his sentencing date.
Kevin B. Click and Travis R. Wadlow, both of Bonne Terre, were fined $500 plus court costs and required to pay a $750 payment to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation for illegally taking or possessing white-tailed deer.
According to the MDC, the cases stemmed from a months-long investigation by the Shannon County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which filed various wildlife-related offenses.
They said the investigation began after a 14-year-old deer hunter reported finding the dead mature bull elk near Klepzig Mill in Shannon County during the firearms deer season’s opening weekend in November 2023.
Over a nine-month period, agents from MDC’s Ozark, Central, St. Louis, and Southeast regions interviewed numerous deer hunters and visited local businesses.
They also examined security video and elk-monitoring camera footage to help identify the culprits.
As a consequence, five search warrants were executed, evidence was transferred to forensics labs, and three persons were arrested.
In addition to elk poaching, the three guys were charged with illegal possession of a deer that they had not telechecked.
