Texas brothers sentenced in Kansas poaching case
Some may have perceived it as one of the most awesome displays of trophy class whitetail buck mounts ever witnessed in one place. Kansas outdoors writer Michael Pearce claims the scene was more appalling than anything else.
"If you had seen that display you would have spent half the time saying 'wow' and half the time crying," Pearce said. "I was born and raised in Kansas and have had the opportunity to visit some of the best ranches in the state. But there were some bucks in that display that were much better in quality than anything I have ever seen. Some of them were gaggers -- several over 200 inches."
Pearce, the outdoors editor for the The Wichita Eagle, was among the small army of media members and curious spectators who gathered outside the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, Kan., last week for a news conference hosted by the U.S. Attorney's office and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over U.S. vs. Butler.
At the gathering, officials displayed the mounted heads and antlers of more than 100 whitetail bucks -- all of them seized as evidence in what authorities are calling one of the largest deer poaching investigations of all time.
"Butler" in this case references two East Texas brothers from Martinsville, James Bobby Butler and Marlin Jackson Butler. Last week, both men were sentenced to prison time and ordered to pay healthy fines in a federal court after pleading guilty on felony charges of conspiracy and wildlife trafficking. James Butler also pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.
The ruling came on the heels of more than a year's worth of legal wrangling after the two men were named in a 23-count felony indictment connecting them to a long string of illegal deer hunting activity in Kansas between 2005-08.
According to court documents, the brothers worked together in operating a guiding service and hunting camp called Camp Lone Star in Comanche County, Kan. There, prosecutors say they sold guided hunts to non-resident hunters for the purpose of illegally hunting and killing white-tailed deer and mule deer. The hunts reportedly sold for $2,500 to $5,500 each.
Initially, the case involved the poaching of more than 100 deer by as many as 60 clients.
The indictment states that clients guided by the Butlers and other CLS employees were directed, permitted and encouraged to engage in a variety of illegal hunting practices, including hunting without a valid license or permit, hunting with invalid permits, hunting with illegal equipment, taking deer exceeding the bag limit, night hunting or "spotlighting" and improper tagging of deer.
Additionally, the indictment charged that the brothers arranged for the transport of deer that had been killed illegally, or parts of the deer, particularly the antlers, across state lines. That lead to felony charges under the Lacey Act, a federal law that makes it illegal to knowingly transport and sell, in interstate commerce, any wildlife taken or possessed in violation of state law or regulation.
In March, the brothers pleaded guilty to helping clients kill 25 whitetail bucks illegally. James Butler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, one substantive Lacey Act count and one count of obstruction of justice for instructing an employee to dispose of some deer mounts before investigators arrived. Marlin Butler pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and one Lacey Act count.
John Brooks, a special agent with the USFWS, called the Butler case the biggest law enforcement investigation of its kind in Kansas history and one of the largest in the United States.
"There were over 5,000 investigative hours put into this case by about 40 different officers from several different agencies," Brooks said. "We are hopeful that this sends a message that this type of thing will not be tolerated. If you come to Kansas and do this sort of thing, you are probably going to be investigated."
Pearce, who has been writing about the outdoors in Kansas for 31 years, said he has never followed a poaching case with so many twists and turns.
"This is by far the most blatant poaching case I have ever covered," he said.
U.S. Senior District Judge Wesley Brown followed the plea agreement and sentenced James Butler, 42, to 41 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay $50,000 in fines and restitution for his part in the crimes, but not before hearing testimony from several character witnesses who testified on his behalf.
Pearce was in the courtroom last Tuesday morning. The writer said Butler appeared somber and remained quiet except for an occasional whisper to his lawyers.
"He looked like a guy who didn't want to be going to prison for 3 1/2 years," Pearce said. "He probably had 15-20 supporters there -- friends and family."
Pearce said one of Butler's character witnesses, Arturo Garcia, wore a full dress U.S. Marine uniform. Garcia is active in the Combat Marine Outdoors program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing hunts of a lifetime to military personnel injured in the line of duty. According to Pearce, Garcia commended Butler for his volunteer efforts with the program.
Marlin Butler, 36, appeared in the same courtroom Friday, and he, too, was sentenced according to the plea-deal guidelines. Butler received 27 months in federal prison and was ordered to pay $20,000 in fines and restitution.
Both men also will serve three years on supervised release after the prison terms are served. Special conditions of supervised release include no hunting, fishing or guiding.
According to Jim Cross, public affairs officer with the U.S. Attorney's office, both men are free on bond pending appeals of their sentences.
Cross said it could take as long as six months before the case goes before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colo. In the meantime, plenty of people are wondering if there may be additional charges coming down the pike against others involved in the Butler's tangled web. Some are probably lying awake at night worrying about it.
I asked Brooks that very question. He didn't confirm it, but he didn't deny it, either.
"This investigation is still open," Brooks said. "Other than that, I have no comment."
Matt Williams' email address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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