A Hardin County game warden received a call from the manager of an Office Depot store in Beaumont. The manager said they had a small hawk flying around inside the store and couldn’t get it to leave, even though they had the front and back roll-up doors open.
The warden recruited a licensed falconer who was experie n c e d in handling and trapping birds of prey to help him catch the hawk. After the falconer arrived on scene with a hawk trap and some live bait, they discovered that although the bird resembled a hawk, it was a large nightjar or nighthawk, which feeds on insects, rendering the trap idea useless.
Undeterred, the warden and his falconer friend resorted to the old game warden standby — a ladder and a net.
They corralled the bird in a back hallway, caught it in the dip net and released it outside, where it flew off unharmed. The manager of the store was grateful that the bird was removed and would not be setting off the alarm system after closing.
Bad idea, this is
A Hays County game warden received an image from a cellphone game camera showing a man and woman trespassing and digging at an archaeological Native American burial site.
The warden went to the property and found the couple in a large hole previously dug by trespassers. Before the warden could say anything, the man stood up and said he wasn’t digging for arrowheads and hates diggers. The couple were husband and wife out on a date.
After being handcuffed and detained separately from his wife, the man admitted that he had a glass pipe in his pocket that he used to smoke CBD oils. After a quick examination, the glass pipe revealed small, clear and white crystals that looked like crystal meth.
The warden placed the pipe on the hood and went to the back of the vehicle to speak with the woman.
She said she didn’t know the property was private, despite walking past multiple no-trespassing signs. The warden then walked back to the front of the vehicle and noticed the pipe was no longer on the hood.
The man said he didn’t know where the pipe went. Several feet in front of the vehicle, the pipe was found broken in half in the middle of a fresh footprint.
Upon further examination of the hole where the couple was found, the warden found a small hand saw and freshly disturbed dirt.
The woman’s purse contained several gray rubber gardening gloves, each containing four Native American artifacts.
The San Marcos Police Department took the couple to the Hays County Jail. In route to jail, the man said he had the coronavirus, leaned forward against the partition and coughed toward the officers.
Both subjects were charged with criminal trespass and Antiquities Code violations.
The husband was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and harassment of a public servant. Cases pending.
Look out below
A Freestone County game warden arrested a suspect in an ongoing investigation relating to hog hunting from a helicopter. A husband and wife were working cattle on their property when a helicopter began to hover over head and shoot feral hogs. The husband waved his arms at the helicopter and it flew off. After an investigation, charges were filed against the helicopter pilot for using an aircraft to manage wildlife without having a landowner authorization permit.
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.