Page 6 - 2020 November/December Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

Game Warden’s Journal

ACCOUNTS FROM THE FIELD BY THE PUBLIC
SERVANTS WHO ENFORCE THE FISH AND
WILDLIFE LAWS OF OKLAHOMA

WARDENS ENFORCING FISH, WILDLIFE LAWS FACE THE UNKNOWN

By Jena Donnell, Wildlife Diversity on foot while another jumped into the driv-
Information Specialist er’s seat and drove the truck at high speed
through the dark hayfield.
When a Lincoln County landowner Emmons was able to secure the person
noticed an unfamiliar car partly hidden originally driving the truck, while anoth-
in a wooded fenceline of his hayfield last er Game Warden based in a nearby county
November, he suspected someone was hunt- arrived and apprehended the passenger who
ing without permission and called his local fled on foot.
Game Warden. But the routine call took a The remaining two individuals were found
complicated turn shortly after Game War- that night by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s
den Gary Emmons arrived on the scene. Office. The rear-seat male was found unre-
“We respond to a lot of calls throughout sponsive from an apparent overdose. The
the year, and while most involve hunt- male had camouflaged himself with grass
ing or fishing violations, we never really and appeared to have set up an ambush for
know what we’ll encounter in the field,” the trackers. Deputies were able to revive
Emmons said. Game Warden Gary Emmons him with naloxone. Multiple loaded guns
In this case, the call turned into a dan- and enough drugs for drug trafficking
gerous evening filled with stolen vehicles, drugs and load- charges were found on the suspects along with another stolen
ed weapons. vehicle. The pickup the suspects had been driving was also
“I found the reported car at dusk and had been waiting reported as stolen.
to see if anyone would return when I heard a single rifle “This case is a prime example of why officer safety is such
shot about a half mile from my location. Suspecting the a high training priority for Game Wardens. I was there at
vehicle and gunshot were related, I called the Lincoln the request of the landowner to look into a potential case of
County Sheriff’s Office to advise them of the situation hunting without permission and got involved in something
and found that the vehicle had been reported as stolen.” completely unrelated. It was a very intense night and could
More than an hour later, a pickup drove into the nearby hay- have ended badly.”
field coming from a wooded area in the same direction as the While the case was not connected to a hunting or wild-
earlier gunshot. The driver spun a doughnut in the field, and life violation, Emmons was able to make an arrest because
the vehicle inadvertently stopped with its headlights shining every Game Warden is a fully certified Oklahoma law
almost directly where Emmons waited in the fence line. enforcement officer.
After approaching the pickup and announcing himself “Our agency is funded primarily through the sale of hunt-
to the four individuals inside, Emmons had the driver step ing and fishing licenses along with grant revenue generated
from the vehicle. As the driver stepped out, one passenger by the sale of hunting and fishing equipment. Because of
grabbed something from the floorboard and jumped out of that, a Game Warden’s primary focus is enforcing our state’s
the pickup, crouched down and ran to the rear of the pick- fish and wildlife laws. But we have to be prepared for any-
up where he knelt by the passenger side rear tire. Emmons thing in this job.”
heard him fumbling with something that sounded metallic.
Another passenger in the rear seat leaned over and grabbed EDITOR’S NOTE: Aspects of this case are still being processed
something, but Emmons was unable to see his hands. Unbe- through the court system. Emmons has since been promoted to
knownst to Emmons, the male near the rear tire was trying Law Enforcement District 5 Captain. A list of current Game War-
to load a 9mm carbine but he luckily broke off the charging dens, their county assignments and contact information can be
handle. The rear-seat passenger had been manipulating an found at wildlifedepartment.com or in the most recent Oklahoma
AR-15 rifle. After a few tense minutes, one passenger fled Hunting and Fishing Regulations Guide.

4 Off the Beaten Path

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