Pretty funny stuff since most of us here in the hood know Winmill.

Serious charges face illegal rabbit hunters

By RENEE WELLS South Idaho Press



A Utah man could face federal firearms violations for possessing with a fully automatic rifle which he was spotlight hunting with near Oakley during the weekend.

Jonathan Shults, 26, of Midvale, Utah, was cited along with a Burley man, his son and two other Utah residents, for hunting jackrabbits with a spotlight along Bostetter Road near Oakley.

Troy Winmill, 36, of Burley, Joshua Waldron, 26, of Salt Lake City, Cody Black, 22, of Lehi, Utah, and a 14-year-old juvenile were all given citations for game violations, after two Cassia County Sheriff's officers responded to a report of illegal hunting activities and found the fivesome spotlighting rabbits.

During the investigation, a Cassia officer discovered an M-16 rifle which had been fully automated by modification, and a police issue magazine stamped "for law enforcement use only."

Shults told the officer the magazine belonged to a relative who was in law enforcement.

He said his rifle was semi-automatic, but the officer was experienced enough in firearms to recognize the modifications. Shults eventually admitted he had altered the rifle to make it fully automatic.

It is a federal offense to possess a fully automatic M16 rifle. An additional fine could result from Shults, who is a resident of Utah, bringing the rifle across the state line, ATF officials said.

Possession of such weapon is a serious federal offense which could result in incarceration and/or a fine, said ATF agent Lance Hart. Taking the weapon across a state line increases the seriousness of the crime, Hart said. Shults was taken to the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center and detained until the issues concerning the illegal guns were sorted out.

Cassia County Prosecutor Al Barrus said the illegal firearms charges, which could bring up to $250,000 in fines and a prison sentence, is under the jurisdiction of the ATF.

Sheriff Jim Higens said he was uncertain if the Idaho office of ATF had received the information yet.

All five people involved will be arraigned on the game charges and will have to enter pleas in Cassia Magistrate Court. Barrus said these charges would likely result in fines for those found or pleading guilty.

All the weapons discovered by the officers were taken as evidence until the matter is resolved, according to a Cassia County Sheriff's offense report.

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dupe

I believe this to be a dupe.

Bummer.  I lived most of my life in rural Utah.  Bunny hunting was what we would do on the weekends.  I still hunt jackrabbits when I'm back there visiting family.  Up until a few years ago, it was legal to spotlight there (don't know about Idaho, though).  Moreover, it's legal to hunt them with machineguns & silencers (no big game with MGs though).  Of course, an unregistered MG is a different story.

Quoted: Pretty funny stuff since most of us here in the hood know Winmill. Serious charges face illegal rabbit hunters By RENEE WELLS South Idaho Press A Utah man could face federal firearms violations for possessing with a fully automatic rifle which he was spotlight hunting with near Oakley during the weekend. Jonathan Shults, 26, of Midvale, Utah, was cited along with a Burley man, his son and two other Utah residents, for hunting jackrabbits with a spotlight along Bostetter Road near Oakley. Troy Winmill, 36, of Burley, Joshua Waldron, 26, of Salt Lake City, Cody Black, 22, of Lehi, Utah, and a 14-year-old juvenile were all given citations for game violations, after two Cassia County Sheriff's officers responded to a report of illegal hunting activities and found the fivesome spotlighting rabbits. During the investigation, a Cassia officer discovered an M-16 rifle which had been fully automated by modification, and a police issue magazine stamped "for law enforcement use only." Shults told the officer the magazine belonged to a relative who was in law enforcement. He said his rifle was semi-automatic, but the officer was experienced enough in firearms to recognize the modifications. Shults eventually admitted he had altered the rifle to make it fully automatic. It is a federal offense to possess a fully automatic M16 rifle that is not registered. An additional fine could result from Shults, who is a resident of Utah, bringing the rifle across the state line, ATF officials said. Possession of such weapon is a serious federal offense which could result in incarceration and/or a fine, said ATF agent Lance Hart. Taking the weapon across a state line increases the seriousness of the crime, Hart said. Shults was taken to the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center and detained until the issues concerning the illegal guns were sorted out. Cassia County Prosecutor Al Barrus said the illegal firearms charges, which could bring up to $250,000 in fines and a prison sentence, is under the jurisdiction of the ATF. Sheriff Jim Higens said he was uncertain if the Idaho office of ATF had received the information yet. All five people involved will be arraigned on the game charges and will have to enter pleas in Cassia Magistrate Court. Barrus said these charges would likely result in fines for those found or pleading guilty. All the weapons discovered by the officers were taken as evidence until the matter is resolved, according to a Cassia County Sheriff's offense report. Print this story

Just had to fix that one part so it read properly.....

dupe
ibtl

As far as the hunting law violation goes, what was the issue?  Is it illegal to hunt jackrabbits in general or was it that they were using a spotlight to do so?

Hunting laws are so confuzeling from state to state.

In Utah, it is not illegal to spotlight for jacks.  You do not need a license.  Although you can not use full-auto to hunt game animals, the hunting of jacks is not regulated.

It sounds like Idaho law is a bit different.