Boyceville man found guilty of poaching, fined $10,000 and sentenced to 30 days in jail over 15 months
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — A 43-year-old Boyceville man has pleaded “no contest” and has been found guilty on four misdemeanor counts related to poaching Whitetail deer.
Judge James Peterson fined Ray C. Stuart $9,932 in Dunn County Circuit Court January 27, placed Stuart on two years of probation, and as a condition of probation, ordered Stuart to serve 30 days in jail on one weekend per month over the next 15 months.
Stuart, who was originally scheduled for a two-day trial starting on January 27, represented himself during the hearing and did not have an attorney.
Stuart was charged with one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer, three misdemeanor counts of illegally hunting deer and one misdemeanor count each of illegally shining deer and hunting deer during closed season.
As part of a plea agreement, Judge Peterson dismissed the count of resisting an officer and one count of illegally hunting deer.
Stuart also was ordered by the court to write a letter of apology to the state Department of Natural Resources and to the public, to turn over his rifle to the DNR, and to lose his DNR approval privileges for 12 years consecutive to any current DNR license revocation.
Stuart’s illegal hunting of a 17-point buck “rocked” the hunting community, said Dunn County Assistant District Attorney Megan Kelly.
Stuart has had prior DNR convictions and forfeitures, she said, adding that Stuart’s repeated violations are “very serious.”
Plea deal
Stuart told the court at a hearing in July of 2020 that while he had been willing to accept the terms of a plea agreement offered by the district attorney’s office, the plea agreement had changed, and 90 days of jail time had been added in.
The plea agreement included two years of probation and revocation of hunting privileges for 12 years, which with previous revocations, means Stuart’s hunting privileges will be revoked until 2036.
Stuart told the court that he is in the middle of a divorce, that he has custody of a daughter and that if he has to serve jail time, he would lose his job and that he works 12-hour shifts six days per week as the lead maintenance mechanic at Lake Country Dairy in Turtle Lake.
Stuart also told the court he understood that if he violated the terms of probation, the agreement would be revoked, and he would go to jail then.
The revocation of licenses until 2036 means “I can’t take my little girl fishing,” he said.
When Judge Peterson asked about his children, Stuart said they range in age from 24 years down to seven months.
Stuart said if he was sentenced to jail time, even with Huber privileges, he would lose his job because the amount of time allowed for Huber would not allow him to be at work and be back at the jail on time and that he also has to be on call when he is not working.
Stuart said he was told that if he was sentenced to jail, he would have a job until his sick time and vacation time was used up.
In response to a question from Judge Peterson, Stuart said he lives on state Highway 64 north of Boyceville, that it is 26 miles to Menomonie, 35 miles to Barron and that his place of employment is 25 miles from Barron.
Hunting is “a big part of my heritage,” Stuart said.
At one point, Stuart said his hunting privileges had been revoked by St. Croix County in relation to child support, but that he did not know his privileges had been revoked and was not aware of any fines when he bought a hunting license.
When the DNR investigated, since his license was supposed to be revoked, the deer he had shot in the previous years after he had purchased a hunting license were all determined to be illegal deer, he said.
Compulsion
Stuart’s DNR crimes are “crimes of compulsion,” Judge Peterson said.
Some people gamble or consume alcohol or use drugs, but Stuart seems compelled to commit hunting violations, he said.
If Stuart continues to violate hunting regulations, members of various fish and game clubs and other organizations are going to be upset, the judge said, asking if Stuart has experienced any blow-back over the charges of illegally hunting deer.
Stuart said he has been spit on and cursed at because people read his name in newspaper stories, that he has suffered quite a lot of blow-back and that he does not go anywhere because people are upset about what they have read in the newspapers.
Many details in the criminal complaint are correct, but many details also are not correct that have been reported, Stuart said.
Goal
Stuart has a long record of hunting violations, and the goal of sentencing is accountability, Judge Peterson said.
If everyone went out and hunted deer whenever they felt like it, there would be no deer left, he said.
Judge Peterson noted he has never seen a case where someone has served jail time for DNR violations, but the goal is not to ruin Stuart’s life or to separate him from his children or for Stuart to lose his job.
The minimum mandatory fine is $1,000 plus mandatory costs and surcharges, so the total fine for each count is $2,483, he said.
As a condition of probation, Judge Peterson ordered Stuart to serve 90 days in jail but stayed 60 days of the jail time.
Beginning June 5, Stuart is ordered to serve one weekend in jail per month for the next 15 months to complete a 30-day jail sentence, the judge said.
The jail time will begin at 5 p.m. Friday evening and will continue until 5 p.m. Sunday evening, he said.
Ordering Stuart to serve jail time is important because it allows other people who might be violators — and also for the people in the hunting community who follow the regulations and are upset when someone does not follow the regulations — to see that there are consequences, Judge Peterson said.
If probation is revoked, then Stuart will face the full penalty, he said.
Stuart, in consultation with his probation agent, must also address the compulsive nature of violating hunting regulations through some kind of programming, Judge Peterson said.
“You have to fix this so you are not in front of the court again,” the judge said.
Although Judge Peterson had initially ordered Stuart to serve the first full weekend of each month in jail, if he can work out a different weekend with his probation agent or find another 48 hours per month that works better, the judge said he was “fine with that.”
The goal is not for Stuart to lose his job, but rather, “the goal is that you do not do this again,” Judge Peterson said.
Payment plan
Judge Peterson ordered the fines to be paid within 60 days, and if Stuart cannot pay within 60 days, to work out a payment plan with the Clerk of Courts office.
The rifle must be turned over to the DNR within 30 days, he said, and Stuart should put some time and effort into writing a letter of apology to the DNR and to the public.
Stuart objected to the amount of the fines and said he had been told he would only have to pay $1,200.
“Maybe I would have had a better chance at trial,” he said.
“I don’t know about that,” Judge Peterson replied.
According to the criminal complaint, Warden Jaime McDermid of the state Department of Natural Resources was contacted about illegal deer hunting activity on November 26, 2019, at a residence on state Highway 64.
The person who contacted the DNR said Stuart had shot an eight-point buck with his crossbow on November 16 while “road hunting,” and had shot a four-point buck with his crossbow after dark on November 20.
The person who contacted the DNR also said Stuart had shot a 17-point buck with the aid of a spotlight on November 22 in the Town of Sheridan, the complaint states.
