Outdoors with Larry DiDonato - ECOs Put the Cuffs on Lexington Poachers

On November 16, 2024, following a year-long investigation, local NYS Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) apprehended two New Jersey residents suspected of illegally killing a deer in the front yard of a residence in the Town of Lexington in Greene County. 

The initial incident took place last year on November 22, 2023, when ECOs Palmateer and Smith responded to a complaint of a deer shot just a few feet from the front porch of a residence in Lexington. The poachers spotted the deer standing in front of the house while riding the roads in the quiet rural area. The owner of the property then received an alert from his Ring camera depicting a deer being shot and dying in his driveway. The video showed two male subjects backing a black pick-up truck into the driveway, slitting the dying deer’s throat, then loading it into their truck and driving away. With very little information to go on, the Conservation Officers processed the scene for evidence. You may recall the officers issued a Be On the Lookout  (BOLO) to local press to garner any information the public may have had about this incident. In the weeks and months following the criminal act, Lt. Glorioso, ECOs Palmateer, Smith, and Hamline collaborated using a multitude of investigative techniques to narrow the suspect vehicle down to a pick-up that was registered to a subject who lived in New Jersey. 

On opening day of this year’s 2024 Southern Zone gun season, ECOs Palmateer and Smith were on patrol searching for the suspect vehicle from the previous year’s poaching incident, when they located the black pick-up parked along the road. ECO Police investigators were called in to stake out the suspect vehicle which led them to a local hunting camp. The officers located one of the suspects captured on video surveillance operating the vehicle, and the other suspect inside the hunting camp. Interviews were conducted and when confronted with the overwhelming evidence of their involvement, the individuals confessed to illegally shooting from the roadway and killing the deer in front of the residence back in November of 2023. The suspects, both residents of New Jersey, were charged with possessing a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, taking a White-tailed deer from the public roadway, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, illegal take of a White-tailed deer, failing to properly tag the deer, and failure to report a harvested deer.

The date of the pair’s conviction of these charges on November 22, 2024, was almost exactly one year to the day from the commission of this reckless and heinous wildlife crime. Both subjects plead guilty in the Town of Lexington Court and paid fines totaling $2,500.00 and now face revocation of their hunting license privileges. Shooting this deer with the home so close behind it was a wanton, reckless act making this poaching incident particularly troubling. The fact that ECOs Palmateer, Smith, and Hamline,

with support from Lt. Glorioso, never gave up on this investigation is a credit to their dogged

determination, and unwavering dedication to combating poaching. They are to be commended for extraordinary effort in this case. The ECOs give special thanks to the New Jersey Conservation Police, and the New York State Police Forensic Multimedia Service Unit for their assistance with this investigation.

Happy hunting, trapping, and fishing until next time!

Remember to report poaching violations by calling 1-844- DEC-ECOS (1-844-332-3267)