Hunters poached deer at Fort Riley while trespassing on explosives area, feds charge

Three hunters have been charged with federal crimes after they allegedly trespassed at Fort Riley and illegally poached deer in areas where explosives are discharged.

Federal prosecutors say the accused poachers violated the Lacey Act multiple times since 2015. They hunted whitetail deer on the grounds of the Army base, disregarding the posted “off-limits” area, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release. They would enter before daylight and leave after dark.

The hunting happened in an area where explosives are discharged during training exercises, McAllister said.

Gregory J. Frikken, 55, of Wamego, is charged with one count of criminal trespass, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal trespass, four counts of Lacey Act violations and one count of conspiracy to commit Lacey Act violations.

James C. “Cam” Nunley, 32, of Wamego, is charged with five counts of Lacey Act violations, one count of criminal trespass and one count of conspiracy to commit criminal trespass.

Michael J. Smith, 55, of Watertown, N.Y., is charged with one count of criminal trespass, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal trespass, three counts of Lacey Act violations and one count of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act.

The charges are all misdemeanors. Each Lacey Act violation, upon conviction, carries maximum penalties of a $10,000 fine and a year in jail, plus civil asset forfeiture and the loss of federal hunting privileges.

The Lacey Act is a federal conservation law that enforces civil and criminal penalties for the illegal trade of animals and plants.

“Investigators recovered evidence including deer mounts, antlers, phone data and equipment allegedly used to harvest eight whitetail deer, three of which are considered trophy class,” McAllister said.

The charging document filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court at Fort Riley alleges the men trespassed at the Army base in November and December 2018, as well as November 2019, to gain access to an off-limits area to hunt. They then took wildlife, allegedly committing multiple violations of federal law. Among the violations were not having valid hunting licenses or tags.

Court documents show prosecutors have already filed for the forfeiture of various items, including antlers and shoulder mounts seized from homes and businesses.

The forfeiture notice in the charging document includes 24 naturally shed elk antlers, 34 naturally shed deer antlers, eight whitetail buck skulls, one bull elk skull and one additional whitetail buck skull. The items were taken from Fort Riley, and have since been seized from Frikken’s home and a business.

Items seized from Nunley’s home include a nine-point whitetail deer shoulder mount illegally harvested from Fort Riley in 2015, a second 18-point mount illegally harvested in 2017, a bull elk skull and one naturally shed elk antler, according to the forfeiture notice.

Seized from Smith’s home was a 13-point mount illegally harvested from Fort Riley in 2017, according to the charging document’s forfeiture notice

Additional items seized from someone identified as Z. Chambers were a 13-point mount illegally harvested in 2017 and an 11-point buck skull cap and antlers illegally harvested in 2019. Chambers is not identified anywhere else in the public court documents, and no one with that name was charged

Investigating agencies included the Directorate of Emergency Services, Fort Riley Conservation Law Enforcement Officers, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and the New York State Environmental Conservation Office.

This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 3:06 PM.