April 14, 2005
A federal grand jury indicted ten individuals yesterday for 15 alleged
violations of federal wildlife laws and federal conspiracy laws.
The indictment charged the individuals with recruiting clients to come to New
Mexico to engage in illegal hunting and killing of big game on the Valles
Caldera National Preserve and other public lands in the state.
The individuals named in the indictment are Mike Archuleta, Jeffrey Clem, Wesley
McGlothlin, Colin Clem, Eric Garcia, Shawn Hamrick, Ernest Salazar, Vernon
McCall, Mark Martinez, and Rudy Valdez. Seven of the individuals named in the
indictment are residents of New Mexico and the other three are residents of
Virginia. Archuleta is the owner/operator of Mark V. Outfitters and Sierra
Taxidermy in Espanola, New Mexico. Wesley McGlothlin is the owner/operator of
Antler Ridge Taxidermy in Amissville, Virginia. The other individuals are guides
employed by Mark V. Outfitters. The defendants would act as guides and
outfitters for the hunter clients.
The individuals are accused of providing guiding, outfitting and other services
for money which resulted in the unlawful taking and selling of wildlife with a
market value in excess of $350.
The indictment alleged that commercial outfitters and guides charged
out-of-state clients to hunt elk and other game in violation of state and
federal wildlife conservation laws. This conduct is prohibited by the Lacey Act,
a federal statute that forbids the sale, purchase or transportation of illegally
taken game. Penalties for violations of the Lacey Act include include five years
in prison and $250,000 fine per person and $500,000 per organization.
Law enforcement representatives from New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, New
Mexico State Police, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, Department of Homeland Security, Immigration Customs
Enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Land Management, USDA Forest
Service and the Quantico Marine Corps Base cooperated on the investigation.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible
for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages
the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544
national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special
management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery
resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces
federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory
bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native
American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees
the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of
dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and
wildlife agencies.
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