Patrolling the Angeles National Forest one night, officers with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife saw two vehicles driving off-road and shining a spotlight into the forest — an illegal and dangerous hunting method, according to the agency.
When officers pulled the vehicles over, CDFW reported that they found three people with blood on their hands and clothes. Upon investigation, the officers uncovered two freshly killed does, loaded firearms and spotlights. One of the animals had been fully skinned while the other had been quartered.
Both were headless and stuffed in black trash bags.
The suspects were arrested at the scene and released after they made written promises to appear, the agency announced Friday in a Facebook post. According to the agency, the suspects admitted to illegally killing the deer and trying to conceal the evidence.
Officers seized the firearms, deer and other evidence, CDFW said. The agency reported that the violations included unlawful take of female deer, taking deer without licenses or tags, possession of untagged meat, possession of loaded firearms in a vehicle, illegal method of take and spotlighting.
It’s unclear when officers took the suspects into custody, and the agency didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
In the post, the agency says its officers received multiple reports in August of last year of illegal deer hunting and “spotlighting” in the forest that mostly falls within Los Angeles County. A tip from a member of the public prompted the officers to conduct “targeted night patrols” in the area, including the one that led to the arrests, CDFW said.
The CDFW officers’ “work is important to protecting California’s natural resources,” Alan Barcelona, president of the California Statewide Law Enforcement Assn., said in a statement.
He said that investigating illegal hunting puts officers at risk, particularly at night, and they’re often approaching people who are armed in uneven terrain.
“This investigation also highlights the importance of tips from the public, as CDFW officers can’t be everywhere,” he added.
In 2020, a tip led to the prosecution of a Yuba County man, who authorities said killed seven does and dumped their bodies to avoid detection.
In that case, DNA analysis of deer meat found at the man’s home and a nearby waterway revealed the man was lying about the number of animals he had shot.
In California, a hunting license and a deer tag is required to hunt deer. Close to two dozen hunting zones opened to rifle hunting this month, including areas in the Central Valley and Eastern Sierra.
