Teamwork
By Sr. Agent Donnie Bozeman

December 9, 2003, is a night I will not soon forget. Unlike most nights this past winter, it was rainy and cold. Senior Agent Brad Guidroz and I had a package to deliver to Senior Agent Cliff Ortis.

We met on a road that does not get much traffic. Not that many country roads get much traffic on cold rainy weekday nights. Brad and I sat in his truck in one lane with the truck turned off. Cliff was in the other lane with his truck turned off. Yes, we had the entire road blocked.
After we gave Cliff the package we sat and discussed tactics and places to work night hunters that night. As we talked, a four wheel drive truck approached us. Like kind gentlemen we flagged him to drive around us. As they drove by Brad said, “I know the passenger. They’re up to no good.”

The truck drove past and we sat and discussed the possibility of the guys in the truck shooting something. Really, what are the chances of someone driving by two game warden trucks and still shooting a deer at night on a public road and from a vehicle?

Brad and I decided to follow the truck. Cliff decided to drive around and cut the truck off if he came out on the other end. As Brad and I drove blacked out we saw a truck coming from a camp. We pulled off the road and hid our truck. The truck turned back on to the main road and started shining with a spotlight. We continued to follow blacked out and called Cliff to let him know what was going on. We watched as they shined four or five fields, no deer.

The truck then took a right and sped toward Cliff. The truck passed Cliff. Did they see us? No! From behind the truck Cliff informed us, “They’re back at it again.” Then the good news comes from Cliff, “They just shot! I am going to pull them over.” The bad news was, they did not want to be pulled over and took off.

Cliff called dispatch to get assistance from the local police department. That’s when we heard a welcomed voice on the radio. It was our own Colonel Vidrine, who said, “I am right there. I’ll block the road.” As Brad and I chased Cliff, who was chasing the shooters, we see blue lights everywhere. Colonel Vidrine and Major Broussard had the road blocked and the truck stopped.

The three subjects were escorted out of their truck and separated. All had different stories until we told the owner of the truck that the tow truck was on the way and he would lose his truck. That is all he needed to hear, even though Cliff saw everything. One subject said this one shot a doe, she dropped. I’ll show where the deer is. I dropped my hat out of the window to mark the spot.

All three subjects were arrested, placed in handcuffs and brought to the Pointe Coupee jail. There they were charged with civil restitution, hunting from a moving vehicle, hunting deer during illegal hours, hunting from a public road, and flight from an officer. A Remington model 700 .270 and a Browning A bolt 30-06 were seized along with the doe. The truck was towed.

This was the first night hunting case I was on, and it was perfect. Teamwork at its finest.