Men plead guilty to poaching

By Natalie Andrews

November 30, 2005 | A hunting trip gone south left three men looking for more bucks.

Brothers Skylar Griffin, 23, and Benjamin Griffin of Newton, and Matthew Brown, 23, of Logan, pleaded guilty Monday in 1st District Court to destruction of protected wildlife. The men were fined and sentenced to community service instead of jail time.

The three were hunting two miles south of the Idaho-Utah border Oct. 15 when Benjamin Griffin shot a deer. The men tagged the deer with an Idaho tag and told police they thought they were hunting in Idaho. The men later retracted their statement in a letter to Judge Gordon Low, saying that they had "knowingly captured illegal wildlife," and simply tagged it to try to get away.

Because Benjamin Griffin shot the animal, his actions were a class-A misdemeanor and he could have faced up to a year in the county jail. Because the other two assisted Griffin, they were charged with class-B misdemeanors, and a potential for six months in jail.

"I want each of you to understand that you have the right to plead not guilty," Low said, cautioning the three repeatedly in their choice to represent themselves and plead guilty.

Benjamin Griffin was fined $500; the other two were fined $350. All three were ordered to spend 40 hours of community service at the hunter education building. Low said he preferred the time be spent in construction.

The men have until Feb. 1 to pay their fines.

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