DEC police follow trail of evidence leading to poaching arrests in Mendon Ponds Park

MENDON, NY – A classic crime story in Mendon Ponds Park – only this time the victims were deer and the suspects were poachers.

And even though the only evidence at the crime scene was a tuft of hair and a trail of blood, the state Environmental Protection Agency was able to unmask the perpetrators through good, old-fashioned police work and obtain five guilty pleas.

On Friday, News10NBC investigative reporter Berkeley Brean returned to the scene.

The DEC says the people arrested and charged entered the park and fired crossbows and a shotgun from their truck, killing several deer. Hunting is illegal in Mendon Ponds Park.

Last year, DEC Trooper Jeffrey Johnston was called to a parking lot after a hiker spotted a trail of blood. Johnston followed the trail into the woods and found a crucial piece of evidence – a lump of shark.

“As the deer was dragged over the sticks and debris, some of the hair got caught there. So a tuft of hair got caught on a stick or piece of debris,” Johnston said.

Johnston put it in an evidence bag and followed the trail back to the packing yard.

“It appeared there were vehicle tracks leading backwards, and right here, approximately, is where the blood ended,” Johnston said, pointing to the spot.

Johnston didn’t have much to go on except the small piece of hair he found and the blood trail. The very next day, he got a tip that led him to the railroad tracks in East Rochester.

Police found three dead deer along the tracks. One was decapitated. Two had their antlers cut off. DNA matched hair found in the park, and Johnston also found a knife with a name written on it and a business card.

Acting on an arrest warrant, a search of a suspect’s phone led to the arrest of five people and charges for the killing of seven deer.

Officer Johnston found six of the antlers.

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “They didn’t care about the food, they wanted to feed their family. They cared about the trophy.”

Officer Jeffrey Johnston, NYSDEC police officer: “That’s right.”

In the Finger Lakes, the DEC has recorded an average of more than 400 cases of deer poaching in recent years.

The main suspect in this case has not answered my call or text message.

There is no exact number of deer in the park, but I passed one on the way in.

Lt. Tim Fay, NYSDEC Police Officer: “I have only been here as a supervisor for three years and every year we represent a case in Mendon Ponds Park.”

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “Why is what happened a problem?”

Lieutenant Tim Fay: “First, as far as fish and wildlife are concerned, the hunting aspect – in this case, shooting a deer from a motor vehicle is not a fair hunt.”

And then there is public safety.

Lieutenant Tim Fay: “You shoot a deer you see in a field and you don’t know if there’s a hiker in the woods behind it.”

All five defendants pleaded guilty in late June and paid a total of $7,100 in fines.