Adams County hunter arrested for violating court-ordered hunting ban

An Adams County man was arrested after a wildlife officer linked him to a hunting-without-permission complaint and confirmed he was already under suspended hunting privileges. The case ended with ten days in jail, probation, a three-year hunting ban and forfeiture of a rifle.

The incident began with a complaint that the man had been hunting without permission and that the problem had been ongoing. By the time the officer reached the area, the man and his dogs were gone, but the investigation did not end there. The officer later found the suspect’s vehicle and recognized the man from an earlier contact, and the officer already knew the man’s hunting privileges had been suspended.

That earlier suspension turned the field encounter into an arrest. The man was taken in for hunting during a court-ordered suspension. He was sentenced to ten days in jail, probation, a three-year loss of hunting privileges and a rifle forfeiture.

Ohio Revised Code 1533.17 bars a person from hunting on another person’s land without written permission, and that permission must be carried while hunting and shown on request. Ohio Revised Code 1533.68 gives courts authority to suspend or revoke hunting-related licenses and permits after wildlife-law convictions. Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-1-03 also allows suspension or revocation of hunting and fishing rights and privileges after certain convictions, including hunting or trapping without permission.

Ohio wildlife officers are commissioned law-enforcement officers who enforce Ohio wildlife laws and related regulations. In this case, the officer’s work depended on a complaint from the public, patrol awareness and recognition of a hunter already known for a prior violation. The state’s TIP, or Turn In a Poacher, program is confidential and is meant for reports of wildlife violations, including hunting without permission.