A man who drowned a deer in the Sacramento River pleaded no contest in Butte County Superior Court on Thursday morning.
Gregory Karl Dudley, 33, of Gridley, will be forfeiting his custom fishing boat and trailer after using the boat to drown the deer in the river in August before pretending to have shot it with an arrow, a press release issued by Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said.
Dudley was caught after a witness to the incident gave an anonymous tip and said they were out fishing with Dudley and others. Dudley saw the deer swimming in the river and used his boat to circle the deer to keep it from getting to shore.
“The witness stated the deer appeared to be panicking and suffering, and it eventually drowned as a result of Dudley’s actions,” Ramsey’s release said.
Investigators say they later determined that Dudley returned to collect the deer with a smaller boat as a means to keep blood off of his custom fishing boat.
Fish and Game Wardens questioned Dudley, the release said, but he claimed he shot the deer with an arrow.
“Dudley showed the wardens the deer, which had a puncture wound that Dudley said came from his arrow,” Ramsey said in the release. “However, local game wardens have extensive training in these types of investigations in addition to the normal police-academy training that all peace officers receive in California and were able to conclude the puncture wound was made by pushing an arrow into an already dead animal. Over the course of the investigation, wardens executed a search warrant at Dudley’s residence and located additional evidence.”
The release said the boat and trailer are valued at $80,000. The release added that the boat would be converted for use by game wardens. Dudley received a year of probation and will not be allowed to hunt during that stint. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $235.
Drug bust
Agents with the Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force allegedly found 86 grams of fentanyl as well as 10 grams of methamphetamine during a traffic stop on Sept. 12.
A press release issued Wednesday by the task force said Raymond Edward Moore Jr., 61, of Oroville — who was on supervised release from jail — was stopped by agents looking to search his vehicle. The release said Moore appeared to comply with the officers at first but eventually drove away. The subsequent chase was cut short for safety purposes.
Later, a resident told police they saw a man who looked like Moore driving into a field near Lincoln Boulevard and trying to stash several items, the release said. Agents allegedly found Moore in the area along with the vehicle.
Upon searching the area, agents say they found the fentanyl and meth as well as almost $3,000 in cash, four digital scales, packaging materials and multiple cell phones.
Moore was arrested on suspicion of transportation and possession of drugs for the purpose of sales, evading an officer and parole violation.
Compliance checks
The Chico Police Department began doing compliance checks on sex offenders starting Tuesday.
A press release issued Thursday by the department said officers checked on 30 registered sex offenders living in Chico and of the 30, 29 were in compliance. Of of the registrants was not home at the time of the check. The release said officers couldn’t verify the person’s address but would follow up later.
“California Penal Code 290 requires people convicted of certain sexual offenses to register as sex offenders with the law enforcement agency where they reside,” the release said. “They must register within five working days of their birthday every year and within five working days of changing addresses. Transients must register with a local law enforcement agency every 30 days.”
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