5 Michigan hunters among those arrested in Ohio deer poaching scheme

A deer poaching investigation in Southeast Ohio has resulted in 11 people sentenced on state wildlife charges, including several people from Michigan. 

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division, said the last of the defendants was recently in court.  

The two-year investigation began with "a group of hunters from Michigan who harvested multiple bucks, illegally spotlighting and shooting them at night, and not properly tagging the deer," the DNR said. 

The investigators "infiltrated the group," collecting information including photos and videos, along with witnessing some wildlife violations, the DNR said. Wildlife officers then converged on a group of five hunters in January 2025, with the assistance of the Guernsey County (Ohio) Sheriff's Office and its drone operations.  

In addition to those five, other suspects were contacted in Ohio and Michigan as the Ohio DNR worked with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 

The resulting charges included jacklighting, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, theft of a cellular trail camera, failing to wear hunter orange during muzzleloading season and failing to game check a deer. The cases were heard in the Licking County Municipal Court, Muskingum County Court and Cambridge Municipal Court in Ohio. 

The Michigan residents among the 11 arrested were a 28-year-old Harrison Township man, a 51-year-old Atlanta man, a 42-year-old Sterling Heights man, a 71-year-old Sterling Heights man and a 51-year-old Washington Township man, the DNR said.  

The other suspects were from Illinois, West Virginia and Ohio.