Erik Van Woerkom could possibly be dealing with critical jail time and hefty fines after being accused of poaching in Idaho. Van Woerkom is a well-liked searching persona and a member of the Muley Freak, which payments itself as a DIY western searching model. Van Woerkom has been charged with felony illegal possession of a trophy mule deer and misdemeanor trespass, in line with court docket paperwork obtained by GearJunkie, who first broke the story.
The costs stem from an incident that came about on October 12, 2022, when Van Woerkom was cited for trespassing on non-public land to hunt a muley buck. He was additionally cited for possession of that animal. The costs had been initially each misdemeanors however certainly one of them bought bumped as much as a felony as a result of dimension of the buck—which measured 161 inches, which is 11 inches over the state’s 150-inch “trophy” benchmark.
The case, generally known as “State of Idaho vs. Erik D. Van Woerkom,” was filed within the Oneida County Courtroom. If convicted, Van Woerkom reportedly faces as much as 5 years in jail and $50,000 in fines. He additionally stands to lose his Idaho searching privileges for all times.
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This incident is the second high-profile poaching case involving an web celeb hunter in latest months. Subject & Stream lately reported on a case in opposition to Josh and Sarah Bowmar, a star searching couple concerned in what was billed because the “largest poaching case in Nebraska historical past.” The couple took a plea deal and is serving three years of probation.
