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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018
Alleged poachers in Washington face new charges in Oregon
Some hunters
are charged in
Clatsop County
By GABRIELLE KAROL
KOIN
PORTLAND — A bust of
one of the largest poaching
rings in Washington state his-
tory has led to charges for its
alleged members across the
border in Oregon.
The Clackamas County
district attorney filed mis-
demeanor charges last week
against
William
Jarred
Haynes, 24; David McLeskey,
59; Aaron Brian Hendricks,
35; and Joseph Allen Dills, 31.
The charges allege that
McLeskey and Hendricks ille-
gally used dogs to hunt black
bears or cougars in June 2016.
McLeskey, Haynes, and Dills
are charged with illegally
using dogs to hunt and kill a
bear in July 2017; the three
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
A poaching ring operated in Washington state and Oregon.
men face an additional misde-
meanor for wasting the bear.
The four men are part of
a larger ring of at least nine
alleged poachers who have
been charged in Washington
state with illegally hunting
and killing animals, includ-
ing bears and bobcats. Wash-
ington Department of Fish
and Wildlife Capt. Jeff Wick-
ersham said they have already
been charged in Skamania,
Cowlitz, Lewis, Jefferson and
Pacific counties.
In addition to the new
charges
in
Clackamas
County, Haynes, McLeskey,
Hendricks, and Dills also
face misdemeanor charges in
Clatsop County. They have
pleaded not guilty to crimes
involving the illegal killing of
bobcats in 2016. McLeskey
and Dills will be arraigned
later this month in Lincoln
County on additional charges
regarding the killing of a bear
using dogs.
Two other men associ-
ated with the ring, Eddy Dills
and Kyle Manley, were also
charged in Clatsop County.
Eddy Dills has pleaded
not guilty to misdemeanor
charges related to the ille-
gal killing of animals. Man-
ley was convicted of violating
wildlife permit requirements
and was fined $95, according
to court records.
Digital evidence, includ-
ing text messages and cell-
phone photos and videos,
helped law enforcement
agencies’ investigation into
the poaching ring. Accord-
ing to documents filed in Lin-
coln County, search warrants
yielded photos with a Goo-
gle map link location and
texts regarding illegal hunts,
placing the men in Lincoln
County.
In October, Deputy Chief
Mike Cenci of the Washing-
ton Department of Fish and
Wildlife police told KOIN
that he almost vomited when
he discovered the extent of
the killings.
“It made me sick to my
stomach,” he said at the time.
Cenci has since retired.
Questions remain about
motive — and the decision to
share texts, photos and videos
of the killings.
“This I don’t understand,
and I don’t think I’ll ever
understand it,” Washington
Department of Fish and Wild-
life Sgt. Brad Rhoden said in
October. “I don’t think they’ll
be able to explain that.”
Astoria man convicted for his role in robbery
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
An Astoria man who
severely injured a New York
state official in a 2013 crash
was convicted Thursday and
sentenced to five years of pro-
bation for violating terms of
post-prison supervision.
The latest conviction stems
from an incident in Janu-
ary in which a Portland man
allegedly robbed the Mini
Mart on Marine Drive.
Samuel Kitto, now 24, was
driving home on U.S. High-
way 26 from a rave in 2013
when the car collided head-on
with a Toyota Corolla, caus-
ing numerous serious inju-
ries. Audrey Zibelman, chair-
woman of the New York
Public Service Commission
at the time, was a front-seat
passenger in the Toyota and
underwent 14 surgeries after
the crash.
A
blood
sample exhib-
ited
during
trial revealed
Kitto
had
drugs in his
system, lead-
Samuel
ing to convic-
Kitto
tions for driv-
ing under the
influence and five counts of
assault. Kitto was sentenced to
4 1/2 years in prison, and his
license was suspended for a
period of time after his release
from prison.
In January, Kevin Pat-
rick Kelty, 27, and Kitto were
sitting in a car about 2:30
a.m. after being denied alco-
hol at the Mini Mart. Kelty
allegedly went back into the
store, walked out with beer
without paying and attacked
an employee who tried to stop
him. He pleaded guilty earlier
this month to third-degree theft
and was sentenced to 10 days
in jail.
Video footage from the
incident revealed Kitto put
keys in the car’s ignition,
started it and rolled it back-
ward from the parking spot.
He was charged with fel-
ony driving while suspended,
for which he was sentenced
Thursday.
“You know you shouldn’t
have been driving that vehi-
cle even if it only moved a few
inches, right?” Judge Paula
Brownhill asked Kitto at the
sentencing hearing. “What
were you thinking?”
Mary Ann Murk, Kitto’s
court-appointed attorney, gave
Brownhill a number of sup-
port letters written on her cli-
ent’s behalf prior to sentenc-
ing. Kitto said he is employed
and engaged to be married.
If Kitto is found in viola-
tion of his probation, he has
agreed to serve 2 1/2 years in
prison.
5:00 pm
Downtown Astoria
Every month, year ‘round!
May
Celebration Of Life
12 th
They are forever in our hearts…
A Celebration Of Their Lives
Janice Haner, Daniel Haner & Dorothy Brenzel
Saturday, May 26th 2018 From 2-4 P.M.
Visit Downtown Astoria on the
2nd Saturday of every month for
art, music, and general merriment!
At the Bob Chisholm Community Center, Seaside, Oregon
Presented by the Astoria Downtown Historic District Association
We will be gathering to share our favorite memories of our loved
ones and the lives they lived. Please join us for some delicious
food and drinks while sharing your favorite memories.
astoriadowntown.com
facebook/astoriadowntown.com
LOCAL PEOPLE FOR JOHN ORR
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