MORRIS - Grundy County State’s Attorney Jason Helland and Assistant State’s Attorney Kyle Klukas were honored with certificates of appreciation from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources during a recent ceremony at the IDNR headquarters in Springfield for their successful prosecution of poaching several deer in Grundy County including a 36-point non-typical white-tail buck estimated to be worth $35,000. Less than 20 prosecutors were honored statewide. IDNR director Marc Miller and IDNR Chief of Law Enforcement Rafael Gutierrez presented awards to officers and community members who assisted law enforcement during 2013. Sgt. Mark Simon, Officer Matt Anderson, and Officer David Walgast were also presented with awards of merit for their efforts during the Diamond tornado including spotting the tornado west of Diamond and calling the event into the dispatch center possibly saving human lives. Simon is the CPO supervisor in Kankakee, Will, Grundy, and Kendall counties. “These officers have demonstrated their commitment to protecting public safety and upholding Illinois conservation laws. It is an honor to work with these dedicated officers and receive this award,” said Helland. Helland and Klukas were nominated by Officer David Walgast who noted in his nomination papers that 3 subjects with a total of 12 charges were convicted and $1,765 in fines and $17,000 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources were collected. One offender had his hunting privileges suspended for a period of 5 years, the maximum penalty under Illinois law. The 36-point non-typical trophy is expected to be displayed at the Grundy County Courthouse soon. “I believe that displaying this deer will help the State’s Attorney’s Office raise community awareness that conservation offenses can be very serious offenses,” said Helland. “Since the deer was born, raised, and poached in Grundy County, we really wanted to keep the deer in the county so it will serve as a constant reminder to conservation violators that we will eventually catch you if you commit offenses,” said Anderson. The conservation officers were excited about the opportunity to display the deer at the courthouse. Officer Matt Anderson noted that these were some very significant cases. At the time of the offense, the 36-point non-typical white-tail buck’s antlers were the 6th largest recorded in the world that were taken by archery methods. “A hunter that is hunting solely for unlawful commercial purposes is always a concern of law enforcement”, said Anderson. The Grundy County Courthouse is located at 111 East Washington Street in Morris.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 17:42:12 +0000