CEDAR CITY – A year-long investigation into a poaching incident in Lincoln County, Nevada, resulted in the arrest of a Cedar City man Saturday.
Zackry Grant Holdaway, 26, was arrested by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers based on information provided by the Nevada Department of Wildlife that accuses Holdaway of illegally killing a bull elk in August 2015, according to a press release.
Specifically, NDOW investigators allege that Holdaway shot the elk near Pioche, Nevada, severed its head and left the rest of the animal to waste away.
The incident took place on property where the landowner had set up a trail camera that took grainy, washed out photos of the poaching. Those photos were the first step investigators used to track down the suspect.
“We tracked down this suspect with very little information,” said Chief Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed. “Our investigators used several investigative tools and put in extraordinary effort to solve the case with very little to go on.”
Holdaway faces multiple criminal charges in Nevada including felony big game poaching, a gross misdemeanor for possession of an illegally killed big game animal and three misdemeanors for trespassing, using a spotlight to shoot the animal and wanton waste of a game animal.
Under Nevada law, anything used in the act of poaching – like a trap, snare, spotlight, firearm or vehicle – can be confiscated by the state. Civil penalties can also apply, with fines for poaching big game mammals running between $250 and $5,000. Poaching a trophy game animal can result in a fine of up to $30,000.
“This is an egregious waste of Nevada’s wildlife, and we are proud of our commitment to catching the person responsible,” Turnipseed said.
Holdaway has since been released from jail on a $10,500 bail.
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.
What a rotten thing to do.
They wasted how much manpower tracking this guy down?
Granted, it’s a shame and a waste, but the law enforcement spent more time, money, and effort to prosecute this man than the Hurricane police did for the lady that cooked her baby alive.
I think the poor little baby that was killed deserves justice more than this elk.
#WhiteBabyLivesMatter
#fundraiser
So disgusting and yet sad that this man would have such a meager self-image that he would need to have this animal’s head to hang on his wall to bolster his ego and his sense of self worth.
Typical day for some Real Low Life eh ?
If found guilty I hope he is punished to the full extent of the law. What a waste of a beautiful creature.
Take him out back and do the same thing to him. I’m sure nobody would complain
The guy who did this is total scum. You are a close second.
So what Elder Low Life your a close first ! Ha ha ha ha ha I got you again. ! Lmao this is to easy !