September 24, 2004

Frankfort, KY - Ronald J. Johnson, 20, of Dwale, Kentucky in Floyd County, plead guilty and was ordered today to pay a hefty fine, court costs and the cost of restitution stemming from the poaching of a 4 x 5 bull elk in early September.

Johnson plead guilty to one count of the illegal taking of elk, one count of spotlighting with intent to poach, one count of hunting big game without permission and one count of taking wildlife from a vehicle. Floyd District Judge Eric Hall fined Johnson $2,000 plus $7,500 for the full restitution cost of the bull elk. Johnson was sentenced to 6 months in jail, but that sentence was probated to 90 days. He also paid $155.50 in court costs and lost hunting privileges for three years.

Johnson and three other men, Monroe Jarvis, 22 of Endicott, Kentucky, David VanHoose, 26 and Billy Joe Derossett, 20 both of Dwale, Kentucky were charged in connection with the poaching of the elk on or about September 1 on the Ivy Creek strip mine near the community of Ivel, Kentucky. The elk was shot several times with a .22 caliber rifle, allegedly while being spotlighted by a vehicle’s headlights. Investigators said the elk’s antlers were shot off with a 20-gauge shotgun. A $1,000 reward offered by the Ivy Creek Creek Game Club led to calls that resulted in the arrest of the suspects. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Wildlife and Boating Officers Jason Campbell and Mark Wallace made the arrests September 17.

Officers seized a 1996 Chevy S-10 pick-up, a .22 caliber rifle, a 20-gauge shotgun and a 4 x 5 rack of elk antlers recovered from Dewey Lake.

Charges against Jarvis, VanHoose and Derossett are pending in Floyd District Court.