DAVENPORT, IA – On December 22, 2015, Christopher Ryan King, 34, of Des Moines, Iowa, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey to 30 days of imprisonment for the unlawful transport and taking of a whitetail buck deer in violation of the Lacey Act and 30 days of imprisonment for making a false statement to a department of the United States, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin E. VanderSchel. The two thirty- day prison terms were ordered to be served concurrently. King was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. Conditions of supervised release imposed by the Court included restrictions against possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons, and King may not hunt, fish, or trap any wildlife, nor accompany others engaged in such activities. King was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant and $125 in special assessments to the Crime Victims’ Fund.
The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant is a United States Department of Defense facility operated by the United States Department of the Army and located in Des Moines County. It is a secure, limited access facility where medium and large-caliber munitions are loaded, assembled, and packed for the United States military. However, persons may apply to the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant for authorization to hunt certain areas of its approximately 19,300 acres.
According to King’s plea agreement, in April 2012, King prepared and submitted an application seeking authorization to hunt wildlife at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. As part of his application, King falsely attested he did not have a fish and wildlife conviction in any jurisdiction, and had never been ticketed for a violation involving hunting, fishing or trapping. Prior to the completion of his application, King had been convicted of multiple Iowa hunting violations. Based upon his false application, Plant officials allowed King to hunt on Iowa Army Ammunition Plant grounds.
King also admitted in his plea agreement on or about October 13, 2012, he shot a whitetail buck deer while hunting at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. King located the deer in a section of the Plant that was closed to hunting. King entered the restricted area, removed the trophy parts of the deer, and left the carcass. King then took the trophy parts out of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant without reporting he had harvested a deer. King knew it was a violation of the law to hunt in a closed area, and to not report all game harvested at the Plant security gate. After exiting the Iowa Army Ammunitions Plant, King transported the trophy parts of the deer back to Central Iowa.
This matter was investigated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.