Suspect arrested for long list of AK poaching

[spectr17]

Poaching suspect captured on his arrival for new hunt

ARREST: Troopers meet Brad Short of West Virginia at airport.

By Peter Porco, Anchorage Daily News

September 7, 2002

A 22-year-old West Virginia man was caught this week and charged with a long string of hunting violations involving killing and wasting moose and caribou last year in Interior Alaska.

"This is a pretty egregious crime on wildlife," said Bill Zamora, an investigator with the troopers' Division of Fish and Wildlife Protection and also a hunter. "This size of waste and killing is unusual in terms of . . . a person to be taking this many game illegally in such a short time."

Brad A. Short of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., a former U.S. airman, was arrested at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Wednesday night as he arrived with plans for a new hunt that would have broken still another Alaska regulation, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

A high-powered rifle in his possession was confiscated, said Zamora. The rifle, Zamora said, is believed to be the one used in some of the illegal kills.

Short, who had been held at the Anchorage Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail, posted bond Thursday and was released, said a records officer. It could not be learned if he remained in Alaska.

A friend who arrived with Short was not charged. "He had nothing to do with these violations," Zamora said. "That person has since returned to West Virginia. When he learned what his friend was charged with, he didn't want to have anything to do with him."

Troopers are conducting a follow-up investigation to determine if Short committed other violations. Federal charges are also possible.

Short, who was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks until March of this year, killed a bull and a cow moose on the base on July 1, 2001, finished off a wounded bull calf and shot its mother outside Fairbanks on Oct. 6 and took a bull and a cow caribou near Paxson around Thanksgiving, Zamora said.

The investigation began with the discovery of the Oct. 6 poaching in the Cushman Road area a few miles from downtown Fairbanks. Troopers issued a "Wanted" poster seeking information about the killing of the cow and its calf and the waste of the meat, since much of the animals was left behind, according to Zamora.

An anonymous informant came forward with information about the killing, and Fish and Wildlife troopers Justin Lindell and Jon Simeon began a series of interviews.

With help from agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the troopers learned that Short and a partner made an "opportunistic kill" on the evening of Oct. 6, Zamora said.

"The friend shot the small bull" and Short finished it, Zamora said. "While they're salvaging the meat of it, a cow shows up, protective and aggressive. They left, got a bow and Short shoots the cow."

They used a bow, Zamora said, to avoid firing another round that might draw attention.

Charges are pending against Short's partner, whom Zamora declined to name.

Investigators also learned that Short and another person were hunting on July 1, well out of season, in the Transmitter Road area of Eielson, Zamora said. Short killed a cow and a bull moose and did not salvage all the meat, he said.

In November he took two caribou for which he was ineligible because he hadn't lived in Alaska long enough to be a resident, said Zamora. Others were present but apparently not involved in the shootings, he said.

Federal agents, who interviewed witnesses Outside, and troopers learned that Short had planned another hunt in Alaska. They learned his flight number and waited at the airport.

Short had come to hunt for caribou and for grizzly without a guide, said Zamora.

"As a nonresident, he needs a guide," Zamora said. "He told us he thought he was a resident."

Reporter Peter Porco can be reached at pporco@adn.com and at 907-257-4582.


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List of charges
Alaska State Troopers said Brad A. Short of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., has been charged with:

wanton waste of a cow moose

wanton waste of a cow caribou

3 counts of taking moose in a closed season

2 counts of taking caribou in a closed season

2 counts of taking overlimits of moose

failing to salvage edible meat of a caribou

4 counts of unlawful possession and transportation of game

failure to obtain nonresident caribou locking tags

failure to obtain nonresident moose locking tags

taking antlers out before the meat.

[lilbiggun]

I hope they nail him to the wall.

[Moose-Hunter]

I just read that article this morning in the paper. Makes me sick. Hopefully he'll get 25 to life in prison for all of this.

[BigBob3006]

When I lived in the Anchorage area, there was a common adage that spoke well of the Game Wardens of Alaska. " If you get lost, as a last resort, shoot a cow moose. Fish and Game will find you real quick.".