On August 6, 2025 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Officer (ECO) Lieutenants Burnell, Grogan, and ECO Hilton arrested a subject accused of widespread deer poaching in Oswego County following a lengthy investigation that began in late 2024 with a complaint about gunshots on posted, County-owned property.
On November 7, 2024, a concerned landowner called 911 after hearing gunshots on posted property near Rikers Beach Road in the town of Scriba.
ECO Wing first responded to the report and learned from New York State Police Trooper Shabazz that two subjects were reportedly target shooting at the location and had been removed from the property by the Trooper.
Officer Wing forwarded the complaint to then-ECO Grogan for further investigation.
While enroute to the location, ECO Grogan contacted the subjects by phone. He reported both individuals admitted to shooting two rifles, claiming they had just been sighting in the rifles (adjusting the sight on a firearm to ensure the bullet impacts the target at the point of aim).
ECO Grogan arrived at the location and observed the area was overgrown with waist-high brush, had no clear shooting lanes, and was not a place where any experienced shooter would choose to sight in rifles.
He also located a heavily used deer trail and found a freshly killed and field-dressed, white-tailed buck.
ECO Grogan secured the area and requested assistance from ECO Armstrong and K9 Falcon. With K9 Falcon‘s assistance, the Officers located the original shooting location, the gut pile from field dressing the deer, and a spent casing from the same type of rifle one of the subjects admitted to shooting during the earlier admissions.
Follow-up interviews with the subjects led to search warrants and further assistance from Bureau of Environmental Crimes (BECI) Investigators Malone and Johnson.
In addition, a forensic analysis by State Police on one of the subject’s phones revealed a trove of incriminating photos, messages, and open admissions tying him to the illegal killing of more than 30 deer in the last five years.
Given the scale of damage to the local deer population, Oswego County Assistant District Attorney Gleason brought the case before a grand jury, resulting in a grand jury indictment on multiple charges including grand larceny, criminal mischief, criminal possession of a weapon, and illegally taking protected wildlife.
The subject was taken into custody without incident and the case will be heard in Oswego County Court.
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