Four men arrested for illegal hunting (Daily Herald)

Four men arrested for illegal hunting
Janice Peterson - Daily Herald | Posted: Friday, October 8, 2010 5:22 pm

Four men were arrested Thursday for hunting illegally in Kelly Canyon, southeast of Spanish Fork.

According to a police affidavit, a Utah Division of Wildlife Resources contacted two men in a vehicle Thursday morning in the canyon. The men reportedly had two shotguns and a muzzleloader, and the officer asked them if they had a deer tag to hunt in the area, as he had previously heard a shot.

The men, Albertico Salazar Betancourt and Alberto Vergara, allegedly said the shot was probably from their friends, who had tags and were hunting deer on the hill.

The officer left and observed the vehicle soon leave with two other men in the rear seat, according to the affidavit. After stopping the vehicle, the officer reportedly observed blood on Miguel Vergara's shoes and pants as he sat in the back of the vehicle. Vergara denied killing a deer, but Alejandro Ramirez, who was also in the back seat, said if he had killed a deer it would be in the trees. The officer allegedly found a knife in the car with deer hair on it and a .30-.30 rifle behind a seat.

Miguel Vergara allegedly admitted that he did not have a rifle tag for hunting the deer, but had shot and wounded a deer. He said he and Ramirez decided to leave the deer because they did not want to get caught with it.

Miguel Vergara allegedly told officers he has a visa to be in the United States, but he did not have identification with him. The other three occupants admitted being in the country illegally. Miguel Vergara was booked into the Utah County Jail on charges of wanton destruction of protected wildlife and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. The other three men were booked on charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and aiding and assisting in the wanton destruction of protected wildlife. All four are being held on a $5,000 cash bail and an immigration hold.