Texas Game Wardens Arrest Men for Illegal Deer Trapping, Sale
By FROM TWPD REPORTS
Monday, December 15, 2008
Game wardens in the Special Operations Unit of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department?s Law Enforcement Division recently arrested six men and executed two search warrants as part of Operation Texas Shuffle, a year-long investigation into the black market deer trade in Texas.
According to TPWD reports, William Kornegay, 42, of Eden in Concho County; James Johnson, 60, of Florence in Williamson County; and Jeff Arbogust, 48, of Austin in Travis County, Chris Sharp, 33, of Marble Falls in Burnet County; and Ronald Rogers, 39, of San Saba in San Saba County, were arrested on December 11. The sixth suspect, Lance Clawson, 40, of Regency in Mills County, turned himself in on Dec. 12.
All six men are alleged to have trapped, purchased or sold wild native whitetail deer. In addition, Rogers, Clawson and Kornegay are involved with permitted deer breeding facilities and are believed to have laundered wild deer into the permitted facilities. Kornegay serves as an agent for multiple licensed deer breeders. In one case, Clawson, a permitted deer breeding facility operator, allegedly darted wild deer and put them illegally into his facility.
Deer breeding is a legal, growing business in Texas, estimated by one breeder organization to be worth about $650 million per year for the state economy. However, there restrictive regulations to go by.
?Money is driving the illegal trade in wild native deer,? said Capt. Greg Williford with TPWD Law Enforcement Division?s Special Operations Unit. ?A captive-raised breeder buck can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. So, catching deer in the wild seems a lot less expensive, until you get caught.?
Clawson and Rogers were previously apprehended Oct. 16 by Texas game wardens and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents for smuggling eight deer into Texas from Oklahoma. Such interstate smuggling is not only illegal but also poses a disease threat to native whitetail deer.
The six men are facing numerous charges for violating the state Trap, Transport and Transplant regulations relating to whitetail deer. Other charges and arrests are anticipated in the case, according to the report.
