to apprehend and convict a career felon and former fugitive
Steven G. Pogue, 40, of St. Charles, Mo., renowned taxidermist and martial arts expert, was sentenced today to serve two concurrent 63-month sentences and pay a $500 fine by U.S. District Court Judge William D. Stiehl.
Pogue was found guilty on Sept. 3, 1998, after a two-day trail in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Illinois, on two felony counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. The conviction and sentencing came as a result of Pogues Nov. 16, 1997, arrest on Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, located in Williamson County, Ill.
Late in the evening of Nov. 16, 1997, a Williamson County Sheriffs Deputy was patrolling a road within Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge when he stopped a vehicle for a routine traffic violation. Seeing that the driver was dressed in hunting clothes and in possession of ammunition, a spotlight, and other hunting paraphernalia, the deputy suspected that the individual may have been attempting to illegally kill a trophy white-tailed deer on the refuge. Because of possible wildlife violations on a national wildlife refuge, the deputy called in law enforcement officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Conservation Police to assist with the investigation.
During a routine identification check, it was revealed that Pogue used the alias, Bruce S. Owens, and was on parole in Missouri for a felony conviction. The deputy arrested Pogue for possession of ammunition by a felon. As additional officers arrived at the scene, a high-power rifle was located alongside the road, which Pogue had tossed out the window of his vehicle prior to the traffic stop.
This incident, leading to todays sentencing, is only the most recent event in Pogues history with Service agents. The story of Pogue began in June 1979 when he raped a woman in Missouri, fled the state and remained a fugitive, living under the alias Bruce S. Owens, for the next 12 years. He was finally arrested in 1992, not for the rape, but by Service agents in Alaska for illegally killing protected sea ducks. A check of his fingerprints later revealed his true identity, and past, which included the outstanding warrant for the rape charge in Missouri. Pogue also faced wildlife investigations in Missouri, Colorado, Montana and Texas.
During the arrest in Alaska, Pogue pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm by a fugitive and was sentenced to one year in prison. In 1993, Pogue was finally returned to Missouri to be tried for the rape charges. Pogue was convicted of the 1979 rape and sentenced to six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. He served three years before being released on parole. After being released on parole, Pogue resumed using his alias and started to work as a world class bird taxidermist in St. Charles, Mo. Although still on parole, Pogue longed to hunt and kill a large white-tail deer. He unlawfully purchased a rifle and ammunition in Missouri, transported it to the Illinois refuge, and is suspected of looking for a trophy deer to kill at the time of his traffic stop.
After Pogue was released on bail from his run-in on the refuge, Service Special Agent Timothy Santel, aware of Pogues past as a fugitive, alerted federal and state colleagues, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Concerned that Pogue would again try to flee from the pending charges, agents quickly apprehended him and his parole was revoked.
Pogue is currently serving out the remainder of his sentence for the rape conviction in Missouri and will be transferred into federal custody to begin serving his 63-month sentence for this conviction.
Whether it is in the Alaskan tundra, the Rocky mountains, or the forests of Illinois, this case demonstrates the type of dangerous individuals wildlife officers around the country routinely encounter in the field. All officers should sleep a little better knowing that this subject will remain in prison for years to come, stated Santel, only through the cooperation of local, state and federal officers did we succeed in apprehending and convicting this career felon.
Although Pogue was never charged for any wildlife violations on the refuge, had Pogue succeeded in killing a trophy white-tail deer and transporting it back to Missouri, he would have been in violation of both the National Wildlife Refuge Act and the Lacey Act. The National Wildlife Refuge Act prohibits the killing of animals on refuges unless during specific hunting periods which are considered to be compatible with the purposes for which the refuge was established and acquired.
Under the Lacey Act, it is illegal for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, possess, or purchase any fish, wildlife, or plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any federal, state, foreign, or Indian tribal law, treaty, or regulation. Penalties under the National Wildlife Refuge Act and Lacey Act can include a $5000 fine and/or six months in jail, and a $250,000 fine and/or up to five years imprisonment respectively.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System consisting of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 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 governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies.
For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/
