U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | Southeast Region News Release

January 10, 2003

Contact:
Tom MacKenzie, 404-679-7291

Vermilion Parish Sheriff Raywood J. LeMaire, 62, of Abbeville, Joseph Clyde Potier (elder),62, of Duson, and Joseph Clyde Potier, Jr., 32, of Rayne, entered guilty pleas to waterfowl charges on January 10, 2003, before U.S. Magistrate Mildred Methvin in Lafayette, Louisiana. The pleas are the result of an investigation conducted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agents and a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Agents which began in 1999.

Joseph Clyde Potier (elder) and Joseph Clyde Potier, Jr. each entered a plea agreement to a Class A Misdemeanor Bill of Information of placing bait for the purpose of taking ducks and were each sentenced to pay $2,500 plus a $25 special assessment fee and each credited for $2,000 paid to Operation Game Thief. Additionally, Joseph Clyde Potier (elder) pled guilty to possession of toxic shot (lead shot) while hunting waterfowl and was sentenced to pay a fine of $500 plus $10 special assessment fee with $300 of the fine suspended totaling $210. Operation Game Thief was paid a total of $4,000 with the balance of fines totaling $1,260 paid to the federal court system.

Raywood J. LeMaire pled guilty to three federal Petty Offenses: (1) hunting migratory game birds (ducks) with the aid of bait and he was sentenced to pay a fine of $500, plus a $10 special assessment fee, plus $800 for eight ducks taken over the bait, equaling $1,310; (2) taking over the limit of duck and sentenced to pay a fine of $350 plus $10 special assessment fee, plus $100 for each of the two ducks taken over the limit, equaling $560; (3) possession of toxic shot (lead shot) while hunting waterfowl and sentenced to pay $250, plus $10 special assessment equaling $260.00; total fines, $2,130.

On Wednesday November 27, 2002 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Agents conducted an aerial surveillance of the marsh in Vermilion Parish. They noticed some things suspicious about one of the ponds located on the LeMaire Lease located west of Freshwater Bayou. A federal agent and state enforcement agent returned to the area where they found evidence of possible bait at the camp, and collected a bait sample of rice from the marsh pond. On Friday morning,November 29,federal agents and a state agent returned to the area to observe the hunters. Agents observed Joseph Clyde Potier (elder) and a juvenile hunt and kill ducks over the bait and possessing lead shot. Agents made contact with them, and Potier admitted baiting the pond.

A total of ten ducks (all teal),one coot, two gallinules, and one Sora Rail. Federal agents made contact with Joseph Clyde Potier, Jr. at the camp who’d returned from hunting ducks with two juveniles. They killed six ducks and Joseph Clyde Potier, Jr. admitted they baited the ponds. He and a federal agent went to get the last hunter, whose boat broke down. The hunter was identified as Raywood J. LeMaire, he had two ducks over the six duck limit, six Teal, one Gadwall, and one Mottled Duck; and possession of lead shot. All of the hunters and agents met at the camp. A federal agent and a state agent accompanied Joseph Clyde Potier, Jr. to all the ponds they hunted to get bait samples of the 500 pounds of rice the Potier’s admitted to putting in five ponds. The agents took information from the adult hunters and seized the 28 birds, which were kept for evidence. The hunters were very cooperative during the investigation.

Sergeant Edwin Broussard of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assisted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agents Philip Siragusa, Bob Oliveri, Bill Mellor, and Biologist/Pilot Fred Roetker.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Michael prosecuted the case for the government.