CRAIG, Colo. – Three Meeker residents have been sentenced for the poaching of two trophy bull elk last fall. The case began on Sept. 25, 2019, when a witness in the Sand Wash Basin area reported a wounded bull elk and a suspicious truck to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Jeff Goncalves.
Goncalves responded and found evidence that eventually led to a truck owned by 18-year-old Henry Musser of Meeker. Questioning of Henry Musser and further evidence gathered from his vehicle and home led officers to the involvement of his father, John Allen Musser, also of Meeker, as well as a juvenile offender. Information was gathered about a second bull elk that was poached by the three suspects. Officers also determined that John Musser had taken efforts to hide evidence in the case. Citations related to the case were issued on March 19, 2020 and all three individuals entered guilty pleas last week in Moffat County courtrooms.
The poaching incident on Sept. 25, 2019 occurred in an area along Moffat County Road 67 in Sand Wash Basin. The area is part of Game Management Unit (GMU) 2, which is a highly valued trophy unit where hunters may wait more than 20 years to draw a license. The second elk was poached a few days prior to Sept. 25th. Both elk that were killed are large trophy elk, meaning fines in the case were enhanced under the state’s “Samson law.” The “Samson law” is named for a popular and quite visible, 1,000 pound bull elk that was killed illegally in Estes Park in 1995, leading to public desire for higher penalties in egregious poaching cases.
“The Sand Wash case shows the importance of witnesses in helping be the eyes of wildlife across the vast and remote parts of
