Court overturns sentences in Kansas hunting case

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned the prison sentences of two Texas brothers who ran a hunting camp in Kansas where hunters paid thousands of dollars to illegally shoot deer, sending the case back to district court where the men will be resentenced.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said in its decision Thursday that the district court made a mistake in sentencing James and Marlin Butler by basing the value of the wildlife on the full price of a guided hunt rather than the actual value of the animals.

The Butlers, of Martinsville, Texas, ran Camp Lone Star near Coldwater, Kan. James Butler owned the camp and was sentenced last year to 41 months in prison and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and $25,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Marlin Butler, who worked as a guide, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution.

The federal investigation into Camp Lone Star is believed to be one of the largest criminal prosecutions involving the illegal taking of deer. The Butler brothers were convicted under the Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits interstate transport of any wildlife taken in violation of state regulations. Search warrants were executed in Louisiana, Kansas and Texas.

The brothers pleaded guilty to felony charges of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and violation of the Lacey Act. James Butler also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

The appeals court took issue with U.S. District Court Judge Wesley Brown’s valuation of the animals involved. Brown valued them at $120,000, a figure that resulted in an eight-level enhancement to the guideline range sentence.

Brown also imposed special conditions of supervision on the brothers, which upon release from prison would have prohibited them from hunting, fishing, trapping or accompanying anyone engaging in those activities.

The appeals court said the district court must ascertain the actual retail market value of the deer in calculating a new sentence. However, James Butler still will be required to pay $25,000 to Kansas, the appeals court said.

The court also upheld a sentencing enhancement on James Butler for being the organizer of a criminal activity, but it struck down the occupational restriction prohibiting him from hunting and similar activities.

The appeals court noted that since James Butler worked as the business manager for a commercial deer operation owned by another party in Texas, the district court should have engaged in “necessary fact-finding” before imposing the special conditions.

Once the Butlers were convicted, prosecutors began filing mostly misdemeanor charges against some of the out-of-state hunters accused of illegally killing deer during the guided hunts at the camp. At least 25 people have now been sentenced in connection to activities at the hunting camp.

Prosecutors said the Butler brothers charged out-of-state hunters $3,500 per hunt with archery equipment and $5,000 per hunt with a firearm for guided hunts at Camp Lone Star and some 50,000 nearby acres leased for hunting activities in Kansas.

The government alleged that during the guided hunts, the Butlers and others encouraged hunters to take deer illegally by hunting without a valid license. The brothers also are accused of letting hunters illegally spotlight deer during night hunts and use illegal equipment, such as firearms during archery season.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.