1 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: He's back. Ed Newcomber a special agent with the US 2 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:16,240 Speaker 1: Vision Wildlife Service. Y'all know he's been over twenty years there. 3 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: He's got his own podcast, Nature's Secret Service. Several of 4 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: y'all know about that. Y'all check that out. It is 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:31,200 Speaker 1: quite frankly phenomenal. But we have brought him back because 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: he has got a case that you are not gonna believe. 7 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: And what's important about this case to me, if you 8 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 1: can work in this case, you can work any homicide 9 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: out there. So, Ed Newcomber, thank you so much for 10 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: coming back. 11 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 2: Well, Mac, thanks for having me. I love your show 12 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 2: and I love being on your show. It was such 13 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 2: a great time last time I had to accept are 14 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 2: you kidding? 15 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: And let me tell y'all, anybody coming to Crime Con, 16 00:01:04,280 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: you're gonna be able to see him live and in person. 17 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: We are going to be on the main stage for 18 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: the Creator's Row. We are going to be live at 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: Crime Con doing a Zone seven in person, and Ed's 20 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,280 Speaker 1: going to be right there and you will not believe 21 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: the case we're going to cover there in person. And 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: it's the first time Wildlife Crimes will be at Crime Con. 23 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: So comes all, right, Ed, this case involves poison, and 24 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: I got to tell you those are difficult cases, and 25 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:49,080 Speaker 1: they're difficult to me because almost anybody can obtain poison. 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: It's sub level. It's not like a gunshot where people 27 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:56,560 Speaker 1: can hear it. It's not like arson where people can 28 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: smell it. I mean, this is something that the killer 29 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: they don't even have to be there when the death occurs. 30 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 2: You know, you're absolutely right. I never really thought of 31 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 2: it that way. But poison is a very sneaky weapon, right. 32 00:02:10,880 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: It is so sneaky. I mean, you can be in 33 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: another state, you can have a solid alibi, theres nowhere 34 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: near there, you have time to get away, there won't 35 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: be any eyewitness or ear witness, and it wouldn't matter anyway. 36 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 2: You're not there exactly. It's kind of the perfect weapon 37 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 2: for a criminal to use because you know, like you 38 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 2: just said, they can actually take the time to put 39 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 2: distance between themselves and the victim and the crime scene, 40 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 2: which you know is pretty important if you're trying to 41 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 2: evade capture. And unfortunately, mac poisoning is a pretty common 42 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:51,200 Speaker 2: method for people to commit wildlife crime. Is particularly if 43 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,959 Speaker 2: they're trying to kill wild animals for some reason. 44 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,120 Speaker 1: Well, that's what took y'all to Idaho. So why don't 45 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: you tell us about February two thousand and four. We're 46 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: out there trying to reintroduce wolves, so we're trying to 47 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 1: build this population back. 48 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's exactly right. And you know, it might be 49 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:13,880 Speaker 2: really helpful to you and your listeners if we just 50 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 2: kind of back up just a little bit and I 51 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 2: tell you a little bit about the situation with wolves 52 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 2: in the Western United States, particularly around that time in 53 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 2: two thousand and four. Going if we go way back, 54 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 2: let's go back to nineteen twenty six, that's the year. 55 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 2: I know, we're going way back. 56 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: That is hilarious. I thought you were going to say, like, 57 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: you know, two thousand and one. No, we're going back, 58 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: y'all at eight, play yeas, way back, way back? 59 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,280 Speaker 2: Okay, Yeah, So let's go back to nineteen twenty six 60 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 2: in Yellowstone National Park. Remember, Yellowstone was like the first 61 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 2: national park in the world. It's often considered America's greatest idea. 62 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 2: The last wolf was killed in Yellowstone National Park in 63 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 2: nineteen twenty six, and that's what's called extirpating a species, 64 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 2: which means they're not necessarily extinct. Wherever around the world, 65 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 2: but they no longer exist in the ecosystem where they 66 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,359 Speaker 2: used to so pretty much by nineteen twenty six, the 67 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 2: United States had been well on its way to extirpating 68 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,200 Speaker 2: or killing all of the wolves that they could in 69 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 2: the United States, and by that time there's just a 70 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 2: small pocket of wild wolves living in the Great Lakes area. 71 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 2: They're gone basically from the Rocky Mountains now. That turned 72 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,400 Speaker 2: out to be kind of an environmental disaster because it 73 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 2: allowed elk and deer populations to explode, which had all 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 2: these cascading effects on the environment. And as early as 75 00:04:51,320 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 2: nineteen forties, people started to talk about maybe we should 76 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 2: bring wolves back to fix kind of this imbalance. That 77 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 2: didn't happen until nineteen ninety five, when the US Fish 78 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,720 Speaker 2: and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service finally decided 79 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:10,760 Speaker 2: we're going to bring wolves back to Yellowstone and certain 80 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 2: parts of Montana. And that effort really started in nineteen 81 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 2: ninety five and a number of wolves were brought down 82 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 2: from Canada. They were captured, and they were released in 83 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 2: the park and they started to do phenomenally well. A 84 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:29,920 Speaker 2: lot of deer, a lot of elk were there for them. 85 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,640 Speaker 2: They were specialists in killing deer and elk, and it 86 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:39,560 Speaker 2: started to put the ecosystem back into balance unfortunately, well 87 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,440 Speaker 2: fortunately for the wolves, but also unfortunately for the wolves. 88 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 2: As they prospered, they moved their packs, started to move 89 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 2: outside the park and to populate their natural, previous, historical environment. 90 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:59,560 Speaker 2: And unfortunately, wolves get a bad rap and it's not warranted, 91 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:05,000 Speaker 2: it's not earned, and a lot of hunters and ranchers 92 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:09,279 Speaker 2: just hate them and they try to Some of those 93 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 2: guys are willing to break the law and they'll try 94 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 2: to kill them at every opportunity. Because wolves had been extirpated, 95 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 2: when they were re released, they were automatically listed as 96 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 2: threatened under the Endangered Species Act, which gave them protection. 97 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 2: And as we know from my last appearance on the show, 98 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 2: violations of the Endangered Species Act are a criminal violation, 99 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,280 Speaker 2: and that law is enforced by special agents of the 100 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 2: US Fish and Wildlife Service. So there's a little history, Mac, 101 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 2: but that kind of brings us up to this case 102 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 2: that happened in February of two thousand and four. It 103 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 2: turned out to be an amazing, an amazing investigation done 104 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 2: by a special agent with the US Fish and Wildlife 105 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 2: service named Scott Brigonier. And the reason I know so 106 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 2: much about this case is because when I heard about it, 107 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 2: I was an agent in Los Angeles. I didn't do 108 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 2: wolf cases. You know, we don't have wolves down there. 109 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 2: But I was so fascinated by the high quality work 110 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 2: that this agent and Idaho State Gay Morton's did. It 111 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 2: was an amazing crime scene investigation. It involved forensics, it 112 00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 2: involved great detective work. And ultimately, as I tell you 113 00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 2: this story, I think you're just going to be kind 114 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 2: of blown away. You want me to just jump in now. 115 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. I was so captivated. I'm sorry I 116 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:39,280 Speaker 1: was listening and not talking. 117 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 2: I didn't know if you wanted a chance to like 118 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 2: Pepper in questions, yes. 119 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: Go on. I was just sitting there literally keep it in, 120 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,120 Speaker 1: because that's honestly what was happening. I was sitting there 121 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: so captivated. Is like, oh my lord, what is going 122 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:57,040 Speaker 1: to happen? Because even though I know the facts of 123 00:07:57,080 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: the case. So let's just go right back. Yes, I 124 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: want you to just jump right in. 125 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 2: Okay, So let me set the scene for you. It's 126 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 2: now February twentieth, two thousand and four. We're almost ten 127 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 2: years into wolfree introduction. They're doing great. They have expanded 128 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:21,200 Speaker 2: their territory. They've moved out into Idaho. And there's an 129 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 2: area in Idaho known as the Wagonhammer Drainage and it's 130 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 2: a popular place for people to go hiking and walk 131 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 2: their dogs and things like that. So on February twentieth, 132 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 2: two thousand and four, a local resident in Idaho is 133 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:41,320 Speaker 2: out walking her dog and the dog finds a meatball. 134 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 2: We all know what a dog will do if it 135 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 2: finds a meatball, It'll gulp it down before you can 136 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 2: do anything about yu. Yeah, well that's what happened, and 137 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 2: within a few minutes, the dog goes into convulsions, starts 138 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 2: foaming at the mouth, drops over, you know. Panicues, and 139 00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:03,840 Speaker 2: the woman rushes her dog to the veterinarian, only to 140 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 2: learn that the dog's been poisoned. So how now does 141 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 2: the US Fish and Wildlife Service agent get involved? Well, 142 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 2: it turns out that the Wagonhammer Drainage that area is 143 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 2: known to be wolf habitat. There are wolves there, and 144 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 2: those wolves are protected by the Endangered Species Act. So true, 145 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,439 Speaker 2: just people understanding that wild animals are there, including wolves. 146 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:37,080 Speaker 2: This poisoning incident gets reported to the Idaho Wildlife Department, 147 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,920 Speaker 2: so Idaho Fish and Game. Because they know wolves are there, 148 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 2: they notify the nearest special agent with US Fish and 149 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 2: Wildlife Service, who is Scott Burgonier, and Agent Burgonier and 150 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 2: a few game warnings go out to this wagonhammer drainage district, 151 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:57,679 Speaker 2: the hiking trail or drainage area, and suddenly they find themselves. 152 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:02,439 Speaker 2: Imagine this, mac You Normally, if you're a law enforcement officer, 153 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 2: you go into a crime scene. It's that crime scene 154 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 2: might consist of a room or two rooms, or a house, 155 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 2: maybe a yard. But we're now we're talking about acres 156 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:19,400 Speaker 2: and acres of wild land that is potentially your crime scene. 157 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,000 Speaker 1: And as soon as you said drainage, my heart sank 158 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: because I thought, how much land are you talking about? 159 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, if you look at an aerial map of this, 160 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 2: just imagine it's basically a valley with a river running 161 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:34,840 Speaker 2: through the middle of it, or a creek. And at 162 00:10:34,840 --> 00:10:37,960 Speaker 2: this time of year, February and Idaho, it's pretty snowy, 163 00:10:38,880 --> 00:10:41,679 Speaker 2: it's cold, and there's snow on the ground. So if 164 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 2: you can imagine that, you have now all these challenges 165 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:50,640 Speaker 2: with just a handful of law enforcement investigators and all 166 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 2: you know is a dog ate a meatball and the 167 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 2: dog was poisoned. So you know, pretty much, I think 168 00:10:57,840 --> 00:10:59,640 Speaker 2: if you and I were out there starting this, we'd 169 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 2: be like, let's see if we can find some more meatballs. Right, 170 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:07,320 Speaker 2: So that's exactly what happened Agent Bergoon here and the 171 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 2: state game wardens kind of spread out through this hiking trail, 172 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:17,280 Speaker 2: looking on either sides, looking for meatballs, and it doesn't 173 00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:21,000 Speaker 2: take them long before they start to find kind of 174 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 2: golf ball sized holes in the snow, kind of on 175 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:28,079 Speaker 2: either side of the trail, left and right, and they 176 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 2: reached down into these holes, and sure enough they start 177 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 2: to find meatballs about the size of a standard spaghetti 178 00:11:37,320 --> 00:11:43,880 Speaker 2: and meatball meal. And they obviously think they're onto something, 179 00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:46,920 Speaker 2: so they start to collect these meatballs and photograph them 180 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 2: in place and pick them up. Now they also know, 181 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,880 Speaker 2: of course, that this dog keeled over within minutes of 182 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 2: consuming one of these, so there's some officer safety issues 183 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:01,440 Speaker 2: here too. They've got to be gloved up. They don't 184 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 2: if there are poisoned meatballs out there, They don't want 185 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 2: to touch this stuff. But in the end, they found 186 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 2: fifty eight meatballs scattered throughout this drainage area, and each 187 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 2: time they found a meat ball, they kind of cracked 188 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:25,240 Speaker 2: it open and inside they found what looked like gray 189 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:32,040 Speaker 2: granulated powder, kind of like almost like a thick gunpowder. Now, 190 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 2: most agents in the US Fishing Wilife Service are very 191 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 2: aware that people tend to use poison to kill predators, 192 00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 2: and one of the most common poisons out there to 193 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 2: do that is called temick or also known as aldacarb, 194 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 2: and that is exactly what temck and aldacarp look like. 195 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 2: It looks like a gray kind of beaded powder. So 196 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 2: good job on the crime scene. 197 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:02,320 Speaker 1: Right, unbelievable and with the dogs plus one, so you know, 198 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:04,880 Speaker 1: you're almost at sixty and you just have to imagine 199 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:07,840 Speaker 1: how many did they not find, how many had already 200 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:08,680 Speaker 1: been consumed. 201 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 2: And on that note, another thing that they started to 202 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,079 Speaker 2: find while they're kind of combing this crime scene are 203 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 2: dead animals. They found magpies, which is a federally protected 204 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 2: bird looks like a crow, but it has a white wing. 205 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:29,439 Speaker 2: They found red fox that were dead, and coyotes, And 206 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:32,800 Speaker 2: so if you think about it, these are animals that 207 00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 2: are just innocent. They're doing nothing, they're just doing their 208 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,439 Speaker 2: thing in the environment, and within minutes of consuming one 209 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 2: of these meatballs, they're dead in place. So it's not 210 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 2: like these animals ate a meatball and wandered off and 211 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 2: died in seclusion somewhere. The agents and the investigators are 212 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 2: finding multiple dead animals across the crime scene. 213 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,959 Speaker 1: The reality is you're going to have a bayer come 214 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:03,320 Speaker 1: along and ate that. You're gonna have maybe other wolves 215 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:08,199 Speaker 1: come and try to get a carcass that's been poisoned, 216 00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:09,560 Speaker 1: and then they're gonna die too. 217 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:13,559 Speaker 2: One hundred percent. It's that secondary poisoning. It can go 218 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:20,359 Speaker 2: on and on and on in the environment, killing eagles, vultures, 219 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 2: you know, small scavengers, big big predators, all the animals indiscriminately. 220 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:30,720 Speaker 2: It's really an insidious It's an insidious tool to use 221 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:32,760 Speaker 2: to try to kill an animal because there's a lot 222 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 2: of things you're gonna kill. 223 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: And here's what you're really bringing to light for us. 224 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: Most people would think poachers are single focused. I'm gonna 225 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:48,600 Speaker 1: go get that one rhino, I'm gonna go get that 226 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:55,440 Speaker 1: one bear. I don't know that people understand if the 227 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: poachers are trying to get rid of something that if 228 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: they use poison, not only are they going to maybe 229 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: wipe out this whole wolf pack, but they're also going 230 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:09,040 Speaker 1: to get maybe the animals that you do care about. 231 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 2: Exactly. And it's so indiscriminate and it's used around the world. 232 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 2: And you know, that's an interesting point you raise, because 233 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 2: there's different kinds of poachers out there. You know, like 234 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 2: there are the guys who don't have a license to 235 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,360 Speaker 2: hunt deer, but they go hunt deer anyway. That's one kind. Then, 236 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 2: as you mentioned, there are people out there killing animals 237 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 2: for profit, like elephants for their ivory or rhinos for 238 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:42,000 Speaker 2: their horns. That's a totally different person because they're trying 239 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:45,960 Speaker 2: to commercially profit. Then there are these poachers who do 240 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 2: things out of spite and anger and ignorance honestly. You know, 241 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 2: people who hate wolves because they think wolves are killing 242 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 2: too many deer in elk or sometimes wolves do kill cattle, 243 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,720 Speaker 2: and they're going to take it bond themselves to go 244 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:07,360 Speaker 2: back in time one hundred years and make wolves go extinct. 245 00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 2: That's not there, you know, that's not their place in 246 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,040 Speaker 2: the world. The American people have been trying to reverse 247 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 2: centuries of environmental and habitat destruction. They want wolves back 248 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 2: in the Western United States. It's not up to some 249 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 2: individual poacher to take it upon him or herself to 250 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,640 Speaker 2: start killing animals that are of value to the entire 251 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 2: American populace. You know, it's frustrating, especially as a law 252 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 2: enforcement officer, because you do see all of this. You know, 253 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 2: collateral kill and collateral impact that throwing poison out in 254 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 2: the environment causes. 255 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: It's depressing, especially in a drainage way because again you're 256 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: already talking about one domestic animal that was almost killed, 257 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: but it gets in that water system. I mean, that's 258 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: like a bullet. It didn't have anybody's name on It 259 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: is just out there. 260 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,000 Speaker 2: To hurt something exactly. And and with this poison in 261 00:17:07,040 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 2: particular temic, as I said, each meatball was kind of 262 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 2: filled with these granules. If if you accidentally breathed in 263 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 2: just one or two of these particles, or if it 264 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:25,639 Speaker 2: absorbed through your skin, you could become extremely sick and 265 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,119 Speaker 2: possibly die. It's just from a few particles of this 266 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,800 Speaker 2: getting into your you know ingesting it or breathing it 267 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 2: in or having it. It's it's bad. It's not quite 268 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 2: as quick as fentanyl, but it will kill you, and 269 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:42,600 Speaker 2: it will make you real sick, even small amounts of it. 270 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:47,200 Speaker 2: So it's a very dangerous poison. We you know, fish 271 00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:49,679 Speaker 2: and Wildlife special agents receive a lot of training on 272 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 2: how to deal with poisons that they encounter in crime 273 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:59,239 Speaker 2: scenes like this, and we take it real seriously. So 274 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 2: there's another thing that they found during their crime scene 275 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,680 Speaker 2: investigation that was very interesting, especially from a forensics point 276 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:13,200 Speaker 2: of view. They found bootprints. And what tied these bootprints 277 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 2: to the meatballs was that in some instances they would 278 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 2: find the hole where the meatball had gone into the snow, 279 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 2: and directly on top of it there would be one 280 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:26,159 Speaker 2: of these bootprints, as if someone had stepped on it 281 00:18:26,200 --> 00:18:28,440 Speaker 2: to push the meatball down into. 282 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 1: Wow, hey, that's really good investigative or that's a great 283 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: way to articulate what you saw. That explains it to a. 284 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 2: Jury exactly, And it explains why these footprints were zero. 285 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 2: You know, obviously there's hikers there, there's other bootprints, but 286 00:18:45,800 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 2: these prints seemed to be very closely related to the meatballs. 287 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:50,960 Speaker 1: But I mean, what are the odds the hiker's going 288 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:54,160 Speaker 1: to stamp on every meatball? You know what I mean? 289 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: So I'm just saying that's really good because a lot 290 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,880 Speaker 1: of times that's hard to train people. They may really 291 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: what they're seeing, but they don't always write it down. 292 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:05,399 Speaker 1: So if somebody took the time to say, hey, on 293 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: every single one of these meat balls, we saw this 294 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: same bootprint, it looked like it was shoving it down 295 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,440 Speaker 1: into the snow, Well, that makes sense exactly exactly. 296 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 2: And as you know, you know, footprints, tire prints can 297 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,959 Speaker 2: be very important because if later you find a boot 298 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 2: it gives you something to compare to the print that 299 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:32,200 Speaker 2: you saw out in the field. So very smartly, agent 300 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 2: Bergo and You took very good photographs at right angles 301 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 2: of these footprints because it was snow. Of course, he 302 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 2: couldn't or plaster Paris in there because it would destroy 303 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:48,720 Speaker 2: the print, but he did record the footprints, and that 304 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 2: became very important later because one of the things that 305 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,919 Speaker 2: really stands out if you look at a photograph of 306 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:59,720 Speaker 2: one of these bootprints, if you know, if you kind 307 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 2: of were in the world of wildlife and you know hunters, 308 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:08,119 Speaker 2: this bootprint is actually immediately recognizable to you as coming 309 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 2: from a boot made by a company name called Danner 310 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 2: in Oregon, and this particular soul was primarily made for 311 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 2: a boot sold by the Cabella's Outfitting company, so you 312 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 2: might you know Cabella's and Bass Pro shops as an 313 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:28,920 Speaker 2: outdoor supply company, and they exclusively sold this boot made 314 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 2: by Danner that had this very unique tread design which 315 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:38,280 Speaker 2: almost it almost looks like instead of the classic chunky 316 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,399 Speaker 2: boot print, it looks like it has points on it, 317 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:47,000 Speaker 2: almost like cleat's little round indentations make up the footprint. 318 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 2: So it's kind of a very wreck There's a lot 319 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 2: of those boots out there, but it's a very recognizable 320 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 2: hunting boot that anybody who's familiar with Danner boots would 321 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 2: know that this is that type of boot. There was 322 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:03,480 Speaker 2: one other thing they found at the crime scene which 323 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 2: turned out to be sort of a joke among everyone, 324 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 2: and that is there was a place in the snow 325 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:12,879 Speaker 2: where there were two of these bootprints right next to 326 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,840 Speaker 2: each other, as if the person was standing still, and 327 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:19,439 Speaker 2: in front of the toes of the prints where some 328 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 2: yellow snow, and most of the senior investigators there were like, oh, yeah, well, 329 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 2: somebody took a leak and that's that. But a very 330 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,439 Speaker 2: new straight out of the Academy game warden for the 331 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 2: Idaho Department of Fishing game eagerly collected that yellow snow. 332 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, he scooped it up and put it in 333 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 2: a bag and preserved it. And everybody kind of teased 334 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 2: him because they're like, what are you going to get 335 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,879 Speaker 2: out of urine that you can't find DNA and a 336 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:58,400 Speaker 2: person's urine, So everybody kind of teased him and kind 337 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 2: of it became a joke. Nonetheless, this yellow snow got 338 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,760 Speaker 2: itself booked into evidence. I love it, Okay, As you know, 339 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 2: the yellow snow will come back later in this story. 340 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 2: So the last thing before the investigators walked off of 341 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 2: this crime scene, they found something very very sobering, and 342 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:21,399 Speaker 2: that was on top of one of these bootprints, meaning 343 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 2: something came through the crime scene after the the poison 344 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,400 Speaker 2: poacher was a wolf print. Right on top of one 345 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 2: of these bootprints was a huge wolf print, and they 346 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,000 Speaker 2: are unmistakable. A wolf print is about the size of 347 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:39,399 Speaker 2: your hand. They're big. And so what it meant to 348 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:44,360 Speaker 2: Agent Brigonier was that after these meatballs had been placed, 349 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,120 Speaker 2: at least one wolf had passed through the area. Now, 350 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 2: no dead wolf was found, but it's a little scary 351 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 2: to think that the very species you're trying to protect 352 00:22:56,920 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 2: did in fact go through this crime scene after these 353 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,680 Speaker 2: in fifty eight at least boys and meatballs had been 354 00:23:03,680 --> 00:23:07,880 Speaker 2: placed in the environment. Pretty sobering way to start this investigation. 355 00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 2: And now as facing all, you know, investigators, you're done 356 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 2: with your crime scene. You've collected fifty eight meatballs, you've 357 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 2: taken pictures of bootprints, you've collected other dead animals, as 358 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,640 Speaker 2: you know, collateral kill, you've got your yellow Snow. Now 359 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 2: what right? 360 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:28,359 Speaker 1: Right? 361 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,120 Speaker 2: So what now? What do you do? Well? Interestingly, the 362 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 2: US Fish and Wildlife Service has its own dedicated criminal 363 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:43,560 Speaker 2: forensics lab. It's called the Clark Baven Forensics Lab, and 364 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,119 Speaker 2: it's located in Ashland, Oregon, and their sole purpose is 365 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 2: to support law enforcement investigations involving wildlife crime. So, of course, 366 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:59,199 Speaker 2: agent Bergoan, you're sent the meatballs to the lab for 367 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 2: two things. One is tell me what this meat is 368 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 2: and two what's this powdered granular material inside the meatballs? 369 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:12,520 Speaker 2: He already knew, but he needed scientific forensic evidence. And 370 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 2: sure enough, the lab results come back indicating that the 371 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:22,520 Speaker 2: granular powder was alde carb also known as TEMK, and 372 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,800 Speaker 2: that the meat was characteristic of the same tissue that 373 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 2: would come from a North American elk okay, So that's 374 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,960 Speaker 2: great information. We know for sure now we got poison 375 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 2: and we know this is elk meat. 376 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: And that tells us something about your suspect, you. 377 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,439 Speaker 2: Bet, and it gives you something potentially to compare later. 378 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 2: So out of that meat, of course you're going to 379 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:47,919 Speaker 2: get the individual DNA from that particular elk, and that 380 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 2: of course gives you something to compare later, hoping that 381 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 2: your investigation goes somewhere. But now we're really in this 382 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,479 Speaker 2: situation where how does agent Burgoonier develop as suspect? How 383 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,680 Speaker 2: do we figure out who this was? There's no surveillance 384 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 2: cameras at a hiking trail, there's no witnesses. Nobody saw 385 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,679 Speaker 2: anybody hiking around there throwing something. You know, it's a 386 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 2: pretty remote area. And what happens next is, you know, 387 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 2: an investigator could basically go back to the office and 388 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:23,359 Speaker 2: sit and twiddle their thumbs and hope somebody calls in 389 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 2: the tip, or they could really get proactive. And agent 390 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,800 Speaker 2: burgoon here was never the kind of guy when he 391 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,280 Speaker 2: was working to sit back and twiddle his thumbs. He 392 00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:38,680 Speaker 2: was a very proactive agent and he was very well 393 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:43,239 Speaker 2: dialed in with the other law enforcement agencies in that 394 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:48,080 Speaker 2: area of Idaho, So you know, he knew the Federal 395 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,160 Speaker 2: for a Service law enforcement, he knew the local police, 396 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 2: he knew the tribal police, he knew everybody, and he 397 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,359 Speaker 2: basically put the word out, Hey, I got this case. 398 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:01,359 Speaker 2: There's found some poisoned meat in a wolf area. I'm 399 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 2: trying to figure out who might have put these here. 400 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 2: Anybody have any idea this? I mean, really, that's what 401 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 2: it came down to. And don't you know, it triggered 402 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:18,200 Speaker 2: someone's memory. And it turned out that the Nez Perce tribe, 403 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:23,600 Speaker 2: which is a Native American tribe in that area, employs 404 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,440 Speaker 2: their own staff to work on wildlife issues, and they 405 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 2: had a biologist who remembered having an encounter get this 406 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:38,120 Speaker 2: back in nineteen ninety eight with an individual known as 407 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 2: Tim Sundals, and the encounter was so memorable for this 408 00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:48,879 Speaker 2: biologist or so unusual that the biologists ended up writing 409 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:53,280 Speaker 2: a memo about it. And the memo basically detailed how 410 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 2: the biologist was out in the field and was approached 411 00:26:56,000 --> 00:27:00,479 Speaker 2: by this guy named Tim Sundals, who just started railing 412 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:05,760 Speaker 2: about how he wanted to kill wolves. During that conversation. 413 00:27:07,040 --> 00:27:09,800 Speaker 2: Sundle's mentioned to the biologist, and this is a quote 414 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 2: straight from the biologist's memo. He said, quote, do you 415 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,280 Speaker 2: think it would work if we dropped a couple of 416 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 2: elk up there and packed them full of poison? Now? 417 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 2: Is this our suspect? Well, we don't know, but he 418 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 2: talks about elk, and he talks about poison. So Bragoner 419 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 2: is better off than he was before he talked to 420 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:30,600 Speaker 2: this biologist. 421 00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:34,680 Speaker 1: Even though this was nineteen ninety eight, that's pretty close. 422 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's six years, but it's it's something right. 423 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,919 Speaker 2: And when you're an investigator, as you know, Mac, when 424 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 2: you're at a loss, you start pulling at threads and 425 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 2: you see whether or not those threads start to unravel. 426 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:54,320 Speaker 1: Well, here's the other thing, ed, if this guy's radical, 427 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 1: those types of folks write things down. That's how we 428 00:27:59,480 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: have Metta festos, that's how we have all these things 429 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,719 Speaker 1: posted on social media. They can't stop themselves. 430 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,280 Speaker 2: Exactly, and they're proud of what they're doing. 431 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, because they're right, Yeah, exactly. 432 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:15,879 Speaker 2: And one of the other scary things that this individual 433 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,760 Speaker 2: said to the biologist, and this is another quote he 434 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 2: said to the biologist, he said, if I see a wolf, 435 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 2: I'm going to kill it, and any fed who comes 436 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 2: and tries to stop me is going to get a 437 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:28,640 Speaker 2: bullet in their back. Now that is. 438 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:32,320 Speaker 1: Well, he goes he goes to the number one slot 439 00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 1: for me. 440 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:39,000 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I mean for sure wouldn't. As Agent Bergunn, 441 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,000 Speaker 2: You're thought, well, hey, this is something I'm gonna I'm 442 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 2: gonna start looking into this person. So he starts to 443 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 2: kind of just do some basic investigations and he finds 444 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:54,040 Speaker 2: out that this Tim Sundles guy was previously invested by 445 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:57,440 Speaker 2: investigated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for killing 446 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 2: a wolf. But interestingly, under the Endangered Species Act, one 447 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 2: of the legitimate reasons you can kill an endangered species 448 00:29:06,960 --> 00:29:11,720 Speaker 2: is if it's in self defense. Now, wolves do not 449 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:15,440 Speaker 2: have a history of attacking human beings, but it's possible there. 450 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 2: Average wolf weighs between one hundred and one hundred and 451 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,080 Speaker 2: thirty pounds, and yeah, if they wanted to, they could 452 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:26,200 Speaker 2: hurt you. So it turns out back in two thousand 453 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:30,040 Speaker 2: and one, Tim Sundals actually shot and killed a collared wolf, 454 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,840 Speaker 2: but when it was investigated by a different Fish and 455 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 2: Wildlife Service special agent at the time, Sundals claimed that 456 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 2: he killed the wolf in self defense and there was 457 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 2: just no way to prove otherwise, so there wasn't a case. 458 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 2: But he now has a history of talking about elk 459 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:53,240 Speaker 2: meat and poison and actually has killed wolves and has 460 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 2: talked about it. So he's looking more and more like 461 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 2: an interesting suspect. And that leads to a search of 462 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:11,280 Speaker 2: the internet. Where As you said, so many suspects will 463 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 2: write things down. And one of the things that Tim 464 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:19,959 Speaker 2: Sundles had going was a chat room and a bulletin 465 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 2: board and a blog, and he loved to post about 466 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 2: his hatred of the federal government and his hatred of wolves. 467 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:34,560 Speaker 2: And Agent Burgunier started to sift through his very you know, 468 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 2: many posts on the Internet, and he saw a lot 469 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:42,720 Speaker 2: of specific hostile language about us fish and while they 470 00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:47,000 Speaker 2: have served as special agents, basically you know, denigrating us 471 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 2: as not being very experienced out doorsman and trying to 472 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 2: trick people and the usual. But one of the things 473 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:58,440 Speaker 2: that Agent Burgoonner came across was this very interesting passage 474 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 2: in a blog that Sundals had posted on the internet. 475 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,080 Speaker 2: And get this, wait till I read this to you. 476 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 2: This is a direct quote off of that blog. It's 477 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 2: a recipe for how to make poisoned meatballs, add newcomer. 478 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 2: I'm not kidding. He basically lists out how you do it, 479 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 2: and it includes, from his own words, adding a pinch 480 00:31:22,640 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 2: or two of temick to the center of the beatball 481 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,720 Speaker 2: patty and roll it into a ball. It should be 482 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 2: about the size of a golf ball or a little larger. 483 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 2: Sol wolf can swallow it whole without chewing it. 484 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: Here's what's blowing my mind. First of all, great job agent. 485 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:46,760 Speaker 1: Second of all, you don't use chicken, you don't use hamburger, 486 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:51,720 Speaker 1: you don't use noodles. I mean you say meatball, Yeah, meatball. 487 00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 2: And he even suggests you can make the meatball out 488 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:58,560 Speaker 2: of beef, elk, or pork. So he's even listed elk 489 00:31:58,640 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 2: as a possible. 490 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: That's a money tree. 491 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 2: It's a money tree. And it gets even slightly better. 492 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,240 Speaker 2: He even says, place between thirty and forty of these 493 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:13,200 Speaker 2: meatballs out in the environment, and that is almost exactly 494 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 2: the situation that occurred. Now, does this mean that Tim 495 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:21,240 Speaker 2: Sundles is the guy who put the meatballs out there? No, 496 00:32:21,800 --> 00:32:25,920 Speaker 2: but he's obviously put this a lot of thought into this. 497 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,440 Speaker 2: He's put it out there on the Internet. Unfortunately, anybody 498 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 2: else could have read it and used his modus operande 499 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,960 Speaker 2: to do this and followed his instructions. But it's still 500 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:40,520 Speaker 2: right now. He's agent for Gon, your's best and only suspect. 501 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,480 Speaker 2: So ultimately there's a little more goes on. There's some 502 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:51,520 Speaker 2: surveillance done of Sundals. He's got a car that has 503 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 2: some really hostile bumper stickers on it about wolves and Feds. 504 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,880 Speaker 2: But ultimately all the surveillance and all the Internet searches 505 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 2: lead to enough probable cause to obtain a search warrant 506 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,960 Speaker 2: for Tim Sundle's house. And this is where this is 507 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 2: the kind of thing an investigator lives for. You have 508 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 2: developed enough probable cause to convince a judge that you 509 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 2: should be able to go into someone's home or their 510 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:23,240 Speaker 2: car or whatever and search. And that search warrant is 511 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 2: always very specific, as you know, it's you're only looking 512 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 2: to find evidence of the crimes you're investigating, and you 513 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,120 Speaker 2: execute those warrants with your fingers crossed, hoping what are 514 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 2: you going to find? You know, am I going to 515 00:33:38,800 --> 00:33:41,800 Speaker 2: find something that ties my suspect to that crime scene? 516 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:45,520 Speaker 2: And funny enough, as I think about this case, and 517 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:47,720 Speaker 2: I used to talk about it when I would do 518 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 2: presentations about it while I was an agent myself. I 519 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:53,080 Speaker 2: always remembered something. And you're going to know this to 520 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 2: your low cards principle, right, absolutely, yeah, kind of like 521 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:01,680 Speaker 2: if you're listeners don't know what it is. Low cards 522 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 2: principles kind of like the basic fundamental aspect of forensics. 523 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,719 Speaker 1: And it's true. If you work enough scenes, you will 524 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:11,560 Speaker 1: know it's true. 525 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 2: It is yes, it is true, and it is amazing 526 00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,879 Speaker 2: how many times you're out there and you're just like, wow, 527 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:21,200 Speaker 2: this is low cards principle. And the principle, of course, 528 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 2: is that if any two items come in contact with 529 00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:26,839 Speaker 2: each other, they will leave traces of themselves on the other. 530 00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:32,640 Speaker 2: And that's why it's so, you know, critical to crime 531 00:34:32,680 --> 00:34:36,400 Speaker 2: scene investigations because ultimately your goal, right Gerald, is to 532 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:40,440 Speaker 2: you're going to tie the suspect to the crime scene 533 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,920 Speaker 2: and the victim at the same time, you know, or 534 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,719 Speaker 2: the evidence at the scene, and that's what this search 535 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:49,680 Speaker 2: warrant is hopefully going to do for Agent Brigoni're and 536 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:54,280 Speaker 2: his team. So a month, a month after the poisoning 537 00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:57,960 Speaker 2: occurs March twentieth, two thousand and four. They serve a 538 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:02,880 Speaker 2: warrant on Timsun house and the warrant includes the property 539 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:06,480 Speaker 2: around his house, such as the garage and workshops. And 540 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,040 Speaker 2: don't you know they go in the front door, and 541 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 2: what do you think they find? Immediately inside the front 542 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:18,280 Speaker 2: door Para Danner hunting boots with those round nubby souls. 543 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 1: Shut your my mouth. Yeah, that's absolutely beautiful. 544 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,280 Speaker 2: It gets better. One of the things that agent Brigonner 545 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:31,239 Speaker 2: had noticed at the crime scene when he took the 546 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,880 Speaker 2: photographs was that it appeared and these these round treads 547 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:37,960 Speaker 2: I'm talking about the only way I can describe them 548 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,040 Speaker 2: as nubs. They look like like I said, they look 549 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,920 Speaker 2: like a cleat or a nub. And what he noticed 550 00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,160 Speaker 2: from the print in the snow was it appeared as 551 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:49,759 Speaker 2: if the nubs weren't symmetrical from left to right. And 552 00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 2: in his mind, what that meant was one of these 553 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:55,839 Speaker 2: nubs had come off, had been you know, cut off 554 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:58,520 Speaker 2: or scraped off, or you know, just in the process 555 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:02,279 Speaker 2: of hiking around. So he turns the boots over and 556 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,000 Speaker 2: what do you know, one of these boots is missing 557 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 2: a nub. So not only do you have a bootprint 558 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:12,040 Speaker 2: that matches the bootprint at the scene in terms of 559 00:36:12,360 --> 00:36:17,439 Speaker 2: size and tread pattern. But you've got individual characteristic which 560 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:21,760 Speaker 2: is ub yep. Pretty good evidence. 561 00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:24,160 Speaker 1: That is pretty good all day, pretty good. 562 00:36:25,320 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 2: But of course, you know, we're always looking to determine 563 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 2: whether or not does our suspect have an ability here 564 00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,960 Speaker 2: to create reasonable doubt? So do we know that those 565 00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,120 Speaker 2: are Tim's boots? Do we know that Tim was wearing 566 00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,200 Speaker 2: those boots at the time? You know, these are questions. 567 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:44,680 Speaker 2: It's great evidence, but can we put Tim in those 568 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:48,560 Speaker 2: boots on the day of the poisoning? So the search 569 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:51,799 Speaker 2: of the house continues. One of the things, of course, 570 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 2: that they included in their warrant was because Sundels had 571 00:36:55,600 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 2: been posting on the internet, they grabbed his computer. The 572 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 2: other thing they searched was his garage and his workshop, 573 00:37:02,920 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 2: And as soon as they opened the doors, they saw 574 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,920 Speaker 2: hunting equipment, including saddle bags that had bloodstains on them, 575 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:17,920 Speaker 2: a bone saw, and a small bottle white bottle precariously 576 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:23,239 Speaker 2: balancing on the top of a metal trash can. And 577 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:26,359 Speaker 2: when they opened that white bottle, the first thing they 578 00:37:26,440 --> 00:37:30,840 Speaker 2: saw were small gray granulated powders. 579 00:37:31,360 --> 00:37:33,320 Speaker 1: This is an unbelievable search. 580 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:38,719 Speaker 2: Unbelievable search. The bottle was in a basically a calcium 581 00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:42,120 Speaker 2: supplement bottle, so it was used for you know, the 582 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,560 Speaker 2: vitamins were taken out and Sundals had put temic in 583 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 2: this bottle, and the lab later confirmed that the powder 584 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:53,480 Speaker 2: inside that bottle was also aldacarb or temic. So now 585 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:57,040 Speaker 2: we've got the boots in Sundal's house tied to the 586 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,320 Speaker 2: crime scene. We've got temic at his house at the 587 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,120 Speaker 2: crime scene. Next we need to figure out can we 588 00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:07,600 Speaker 2: tie the elk meat. And the first thing Agent Bergoner 589 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,759 Speaker 2: did was he zeroed in on these saddlebags that had 590 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:15,000 Speaker 2: bloodstains on them and he immediately collected those as evidence 591 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:20,400 Speaker 2: and they were sent to the forensics lab. Now, before 592 00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:23,759 Speaker 2: I tell you what the forensic lab results were, let 593 00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:26,560 Speaker 2: me say that another thing they found inside his house 594 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:30,320 Speaker 2: was a box full of bumper stickers that talked about, 595 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:35,840 Speaker 2: you know, save a ranch or kill a wolf. Lots 596 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,759 Speaker 2: of anti wolf things, But among those bumper stickers was 597 00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:44,319 Speaker 2: one that said save the US Constitution, eliminate a FED. Now, 598 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,960 Speaker 2: when you're a federal agent or a federal employee in general, 599 00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:52,200 Speaker 2: trying to serve your community and work in an environment 600 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:57,200 Speaker 2: where people have bumper stickers. Basically, you know, calling for 601 00:38:57,320 --> 00:38:59,960 Speaker 2: you to be eliminated. What what does that end? 602 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:00,640 Speaker 1: Exactly? 603 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 2: That's a scary environment to try to be a public servant, right. 604 00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:06,320 Speaker 1: And I'll tell you that also goes back to what 605 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:09,400 Speaker 1: he said to the biologist. So you're showing a pattern 606 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:14,320 Speaker 1: conclusively that he has not only believed this for years, 607 00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:17,439 Speaker 1: he's elevated what he's doing. 608 00:39:18,280 --> 00:39:23,560 Speaker 2: Yes, Yes, and he's he's intentionally He's everything about him 609 00:39:23,719 --> 00:39:26,279 Speaker 2: just says he's intentionally violating the law. 610 00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 1: And can I ask you a question. He doesn't seem 611 00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:32,960 Speaker 1: like the type of man that would have a roommate. 612 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 1: So again, I think putting him in them boots is 613 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:38,240 Speaker 1: going to be pretty easy. 614 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, I agree it would be. It's excellent. 615 00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:48,600 Speaker 2: I mean, it's almost irrefutable evidence. Right, they're well worn 616 00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:51,840 Speaker 2: in boots. He's you know who else is going to 617 00:39:51,880 --> 00:39:53,719 Speaker 2: be wearing those boots in his family? He's the hunter 618 00:39:53,840 --> 00:39:54,400 Speaker 2: of the family. 619 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:59,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, in the imperfection plus his recipe, plus he said 620 00:39:59,080 --> 00:39:59,799 Speaker 1: he was going to do it. 621 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:08,719 Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. So the couple things happened. Next, they seized computers, 622 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:11,920 Speaker 2: So now there's going to be a forensic examination of computers. 623 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:19,360 Speaker 2: And emails, traffic and whatever supposed there also the blood, 624 00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:22,520 Speaker 2: and they also found in the shed they found a 625 00:40:22,560 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 2: bone saw. So the bone saw and the saddle bags 626 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,440 Speaker 2: and the temich all go to the FWS Forensics Lab 627 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:33,000 Speaker 2: in Ashland, Oregon. So let's talk about a little bit 628 00:40:33,080 --> 00:40:36,279 Speaker 2: what they found as a result of the forensic analysis 629 00:40:36,320 --> 00:40:39,480 Speaker 2: of the computers first, and then we'll talk about what 630 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,000 Speaker 2: they found at the lab. One of the things they 631 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:45,719 Speaker 2: found in doing a search warm on the computers was 632 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:50,440 Speaker 2: a whole lot of stored emails. And in those emails, 633 00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:54,120 Speaker 2: he's writing to different people and talking about very specifically 634 00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:57,640 Speaker 2: about how to poison wolves. I give you an example 635 00:40:57,920 --> 00:40:59,960 Speaker 2: in one email he sent in two thousand and three. 636 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:03,160 Speaker 2: You know, he talks about poisoning is much more effective 637 00:41:03,239 --> 00:41:06,000 Speaker 2: than shooting, especially in winter when the wolves are confined 638 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 2: to their winter grounds, and the best playway to do 639 00:41:11,040 --> 00:41:13,239 Speaker 2: it is to put a frozen meatball made out of 640 00:41:13,320 --> 00:41:18,680 Speaker 2: elk because of the last all winter long. Yeah, it's 641 00:41:18,880 --> 00:41:24,080 Speaker 2: just one one thing after another. Right now, at the 642 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:28,520 Speaker 2: Fishingwilife Forensics Lab in Ashland, they start to take scrapings 643 00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:32,680 Speaker 2: off of these blood stains on these saddle bags, and 644 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:35,920 Speaker 2: of course they already have the meatballs that were collected 645 00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:38,760 Speaker 2: at the crime scene, so they can do a DNA 646 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:43,000 Speaker 2: comparison between the blood and the saddle bags and the meatballs. 647 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 2: And don't you know, not only is the blood in 648 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:49,560 Speaker 2: the saddle bags elk meat, but it came from the 649 00:41:49,719 --> 00:41:52,400 Speaker 2: same elk that those meatballs were made out of. 650 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:54,680 Speaker 1: You have got to be kidding me. 651 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,120 Speaker 2: I know, it gets better and better. Every turn in 652 00:41:57,200 --> 00:42:01,320 Speaker 2: this case just got better and better. And some of 653 00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,520 Speaker 2: it's luck and some of it is just downright tenacity 654 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:08,719 Speaker 2: by you know, agent Brigonnier. And you know, with all 655 00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,680 Speaker 2: the support from the lab personnel on the state investments, 656 00:42:11,960 --> 00:42:12,279 Speaker 2: all of. 657 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 1: That, well, that lab is amazing. But I'm gonna tell you, 658 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:21,560 Speaker 1: Agent Bogoonier, you handle this thing good night. I mean, 659 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:25,120 Speaker 1: because it's one thing. You know, like I've collected things 660 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,040 Speaker 1: that people have made fun of me for and I 661 00:42:28,120 --> 00:42:31,319 Speaker 1: always say, well, I don't know how it fits, yes, 662 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,520 Speaker 1: but I may later. I just know something didn't look right, 663 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,040 Speaker 1: it didn't belong there to me, so I took it whatever. 664 00:42:38,719 --> 00:42:41,239 Speaker 1: But frozen yellow snow, come on, they're gonna make fun 665 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:47,080 Speaker 1: of you. Just yellow snow. Period in your report is hilarious. 666 00:42:47,160 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: I mean, you have to write that, but look what 667 00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:50,120 Speaker 1: came from it. 668 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,799 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, and we haven't even you know, I mean, 669 00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:57,399 Speaker 2: as of now, we've locked down that the elk meat 670 00:42:57,520 --> 00:43:01,360 Speaker 2: is connected to the house and the boots are connected 671 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:02,200 Speaker 2: to the crime scene. 672 00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:05,439 Speaker 1: And this is a dangerous person. And I want people 673 00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 1: to understand. I say it all the time. Anybody that 674 00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:13,759 Speaker 1: can kick a dog kill a kitten. And I am 675 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:17,160 Speaker 1: not talking about legal hunting. I'm not talking about legal 676 00:43:17,239 --> 00:43:21,280 Speaker 1: hunting a fishing. I'm talking about somebody at a meanness, 677 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:25,840 Speaker 1: out of a direct target, is going to kill animals. 678 00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:31,800 Speaker 1: That person, absolutely, without a doubt, can kill a human. 679 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:35,959 Speaker 1: And this man said it over and over and over. 680 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:38,840 Speaker 2: You bet. And this is different than hunting. This is 681 00:43:38,920 --> 00:43:42,400 Speaker 2: not hunting. This is right, yeah right, This is not hunting. 682 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:46,360 Speaker 2: And you know, an interesting aside to this is that 683 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:50,160 Speaker 2: the US Department of Justice keeps statistics on assaults on 684 00:43:50,320 --> 00:43:58,120 Speaker 2: law enforcement officers, and consistently every year, the law enforcement 685 00:43:58,239 --> 00:44:02,000 Speaker 2: profession that has the highest number of physical assaults on 686 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:07,360 Speaker 2: them are conservation officers, game mordens, wildnife officers, special agents. 687 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:08,560 Speaker 1: I did not know that. 688 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:12,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a very dangerous profession because a lot of 689 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:16,720 Speaker 2: the criminals you're dealing with are armed, and you can't 690 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:19,000 Speaker 2: you know, if you're approaching a hunter to do an 691 00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:21,040 Speaker 2: enforcement action, of course they're going to have a gun. 692 00:44:21,239 --> 00:44:22,600 Speaker 2: They always have a gun, you know. 693 00:44:22,719 --> 00:44:29,719 Speaker 1: I did a training with Native American rangers and that's 694 00:44:29,760 --> 00:44:32,280 Speaker 1: one of the things they told me. They said, first, 695 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:36,640 Speaker 1: they are by themselves for thousands and thousands of acres. 696 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,760 Speaker 1: I mean, their backup is a long way away. Anyway. 697 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:43,240 Speaker 1: That's the first thing that they made me very aware 698 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:47,360 Speaker 1: of is that every single person they come in contact 699 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:49,080 Speaker 1: with has a gun. Everyone. 700 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:53,200 Speaker 2: Yes, So, I mean kind of famously, maybe ten years ago, 701 00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:56,760 Speaker 2: there was a US Fish and Wildlife Service refuge officer 702 00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:00,319 Speaker 2: who was involved in a shooting in the Desert National 703 00:45:00,400 --> 00:45:03,200 Speaker 2: Wildlife Refuge outside of Las Vegas. And this is a 704 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:06,680 Speaker 2: guy who was on his own patrolling millions of acres, 705 00:45:07,280 --> 00:45:11,279 Speaker 2: and it it was kind of you know, we were 706 00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:14,279 Speaker 2: all reminded that we listened to the radio traffic after 707 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:17,719 Speaker 2: the shooting incident where he's requesting backup. It took an hour. 708 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:20,720 Speaker 2: It took an hour for the nearest law enforcement officer 709 00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:23,399 Speaker 2: to reach his location on a shooting call. 710 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:28,080 Speaker 1: Yep, that's unbelievable. I mean, I knew the danger, I 711 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:33,440 Speaker 1: didn't know that that groove was the number one assaulted. 712 00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:40,239 Speaker 2: The good news is based on what agent Burgonier was 713 00:45:40,280 --> 00:45:42,800 Speaker 2: able to obtain from the crime scene and the search warrant, 714 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:46,320 Speaker 2: it actually was enough for the United States Attorney's Office 715 00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:51,520 Speaker 2: to file charges against Sundals. Now, interestingly, the charges were 716 00:45:51,560 --> 00:45:54,879 Speaker 2: not for killing a wolf because no wolf body was found, 717 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:59,880 Speaker 2: but attempt to do it carries the same penalty, So, 718 00:46:01,040 --> 00:46:03,320 Speaker 2: believe it or not, this is actually the first case 719 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:05,600 Speaker 2: in the history of the US Fish and Wilife Service 720 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:08,759 Speaker 2: where a person was actually charged with attempting to kill 721 00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:11,520 Speaker 2: and a threatened or endangered species. So it's kind of 722 00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:15,000 Speaker 2: a case of first impression, but definitely was enough evidence 723 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:16,120 Speaker 2: to file those charges. 724 00:46:16,440 --> 00:46:20,160 Speaker 1: Brilliant. Well, I hope he got sixty charges because each 725 00:46:20,239 --> 00:46:21,880 Speaker 1: one should have served as a charge. 726 00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:25,360 Speaker 2: Hey, exactly fifty eight counts right of throwing those meatballs. 727 00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:30,000 Speaker 2: So he pleads not guilty and immediately goes on the 728 00:46:30,120 --> 00:46:33,759 Speaker 2: media offensive about you know, of course, the out of 729 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:38,240 Speaker 2: control federal agency, and he said some things that didn't 730 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:41,400 Speaker 2: help him. For example, he said, poisoning if pets is 731 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,880 Speaker 2: simply collateral damage which doesn't make you very popular with 732 00:46:44,960 --> 00:46:48,000 Speaker 2: the public. Right now, what we have is we have 733 00:46:48,120 --> 00:46:51,560 Speaker 2: evidence that you know, boots in his possession matched the 734 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:54,320 Speaker 2: prints at the scene of the suspect. We got the 735 00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:57,520 Speaker 2: same type of poison found in the suspect's garage, we 736 00:46:57,600 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 2: got meat from the same elk from the crime scene. 737 00:47:01,160 --> 00:47:03,960 Speaker 2: That's he matches the blood in his garage. And we know, 738 00:47:04,040 --> 00:47:09,480 Speaker 2: of course that he's a jerk. But then there's one 739 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:16,080 Speaker 2: more thing that Bragonia thinks about, and that is that 740 00:47:16,239 --> 00:47:18,640 Speaker 2: as he's considering what do we how do we get 741 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:21,520 Speaker 2: ready for trial, he's looking at the evidence that's booked 742 00:47:21,840 --> 00:47:25,240 Speaker 2: into you know, into evidence, and he finds this frozen 743 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:30,359 Speaker 2: yellow snow and he says, what what is Well? Could 744 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:34,040 Speaker 2: this be important? Why is this important? And you know, 745 00:47:35,080 --> 00:47:36,640 Speaker 2: I think Mac, you and I have talked about this. 746 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:41,360 Speaker 2: You know why. There is one time when a person's 747 00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:44,759 Speaker 2: DNA will show up in their urine. It's when they're sick. 748 00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:47,960 Speaker 2: And if you have a cold or you're getting over cold, 749 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:50,440 Speaker 2: your body will shed cells and it ends up in 750 00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:52,480 Speaker 2: your urine and it's you know, there's. 751 00:47:52,280 --> 00:47:55,320 Speaker 1: Oh, please tell me he was sick, Please tell me. 752 00:47:56,960 --> 00:48:00,480 Speaker 2: So in going through all of his emails from the 753 00:48:00,520 --> 00:48:05,279 Speaker 2: search warrant, Bragonier remembered that the week before the meat 754 00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:08,200 Speaker 2: balls had been thrown out there, Tim Sundles had been 755 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:10,880 Speaker 2: complaining to his friends about having had the flu. 756 00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:16,359 Speaker 1: Oh the word. Yeah. 757 00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:20,600 Speaker 2: So now we've got a suspect who's pleading not guilty. 758 00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:22,520 Speaker 2: He wants to go to trial. He's gone on the 759 00:48:22,960 --> 00:48:28,640 Speaker 2: public you know, public media offensive against government. But Brigonia 760 00:48:28,719 --> 00:48:32,000 Speaker 2: goes in front of a judge in the US District 761 00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:36,680 Speaker 2: Court and says, I want an order authorizing me to 762 00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:40,440 Speaker 2: take a DNA sample from Tim Sundles, and the judge 763 00:48:40,480 --> 00:48:44,920 Speaker 2: grants it. So the judge has now ordered Tim Sundle 764 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:47,040 Speaker 2: to turn over a DNA sample so it can be 765 00:48:47,120 --> 00:48:50,520 Speaker 2: compared against the DNA that's found in the urine. And 766 00:48:50,680 --> 00:48:54,000 Speaker 2: don't you know that immediately causes him to plead guilty. 767 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:59,600 Speaker 1: That is a beautiful thing, that is outstanding. And you know, 768 00:48:59,680 --> 00:49:02,399 Speaker 1: you can get DNA from urine, but you know, it's 769 00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:06,040 Speaker 1: it's not as easy as people think. I mean, first 770 00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:07,560 Speaker 1: of all, it's got to be fresh and all that, 771 00:49:07,719 --> 00:49:10,000 Speaker 1: and then you've got to keep it at a low temperature. 772 00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:14,720 Speaker 1: So how fortunate that it was frozen. I mean, everything 773 00:49:14,880 --> 00:49:17,759 Speaker 1: just worked out beautifully. But I'm going to say something now, 774 00:49:18,440 --> 00:49:21,719 Speaker 1: it worked out beautifully because of a lot of hard work. 775 00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:27,720 Speaker 1: I mean when you're talking about I mean just hundreds 776 00:49:27,760 --> 00:49:31,719 Speaker 1: and hundreds of acres, and those meatballs could have been 777 00:49:31,920 --> 00:49:36,040 Speaker 1: anywhere for him to find one after the other after 778 00:49:36,120 --> 00:49:40,400 Speaker 1: the other and then keep searching. I mean, agent bragone, 779 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:45,040 Speaker 1: You're saved possibly hundreds of animals. 780 00:49:45,480 --> 00:49:49,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he basically he delivered consequences to somebody 781 00:49:49,719 --> 00:49:51,799 Speaker 2: who desperately needed consequences his. 782 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:55,120 Speaker 1: Behavior for the safety of animals and humans. 783 00:49:55,520 --> 00:49:58,279 Speaker 2: Yeah, one hundred percent. And it kind of sent a 784 00:49:58,360 --> 00:50:01,759 Speaker 2: message to anyone else who's thinking about this that And 785 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:04,279 Speaker 2: this is something I always told people. You know, US 786 00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:08,400 Speaker 2: Fish and Wildlife Service agents are among the most tenacious 787 00:50:09,560 --> 00:50:12,480 Speaker 2: federal investigators I've ever seen in my life. And they 788 00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:16,480 Speaker 2: you know, if you commit a wildlife crime a US 789 00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:20,480 Speaker 2: Fish and Wildlife Service agent, they will pursue you. They 790 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:22,799 Speaker 2: will catch you, and they will put you in jail. 791 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:25,600 Speaker 2: It's just it's not a matter of if, it's a 792 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:31,680 Speaker 2: matter of when. And that's exactly what you know happened here. 793 00:50:31,800 --> 00:50:35,400 Speaker 2: And I think one of the best outcomes from this case. Unfortunately, 794 00:50:35,480 --> 00:50:39,960 Speaker 2: the endangered Species Act carries fairly low penalties, so it's 795 00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,000 Speaker 2: not like we can say Tim Sundles went to jail 796 00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:45,560 Speaker 2: for a long time. But some interesting things occurred in 797 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:48,879 Speaker 2: his sentence that were I think very painful for him. 798 00:50:49,360 --> 00:50:53,439 Speaker 2: One of one is that he was prohibited from from 799 00:50:54,000 --> 00:50:57,680 Speaker 2: entering federal property for the entire term of his probation, 800 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:00,800 Speaker 2: which was two years. And if you live in Idaho, 801 00:51:01,600 --> 00:51:05,160 Speaker 2: a lot of Idaho is federal property, either a service 802 00:51:05,280 --> 00:51:09,040 Speaker 2: land or BLM land, so it kind of is impingement 803 00:51:09,160 --> 00:51:09,960 Speaker 2: on your lifestyle. 804 00:51:10,120 --> 00:51:12,640 Speaker 1: It was two miles he could go in good exactly. 805 00:51:13,360 --> 00:51:17,200 Speaker 2: But my favorite part was the Washington Post. Every year 806 00:51:17,640 --> 00:51:22,120 Speaker 2: they post a Idiot of the Year, and it's a 807 00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:25,760 Speaker 2: number of people that make the list, but Tim Sundals 808 00:51:25,880 --> 00:51:28,600 Speaker 2: was the twenty first idiot of the year for that year. 809 00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:31,920 Speaker 2: And I'll just read you real quick what the Washington 810 00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:35,600 Speaker 2: Post said. It said, Tim Sundals. Tim Sundals, Who's unabashed 811 00:51:35,640 --> 00:51:41,000 Speaker 2: hatred of US government efforts to reintroduce gray wolves out 812 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:45,200 Speaker 2: West borders on fanatical. In his latest scheme to finish 813 00:51:45,280 --> 00:51:48,160 Speaker 2: off the endangered species, he planted poison lace meatballs in 814 00:51:48,239 --> 00:51:52,800 Speaker 2: Idaho's remote salmon Shayliss National Forests instead of killing wolves. 815 00:51:52,880 --> 00:51:55,400 Speaker 2: Though the meatballs ended up poisoning a coyotea fox, and 816 00:51:55,480 --> 00:52:00,440 Speaker 2: birds and three pet dogs. So he public shaming is 817 00:52:01,920 --> 00:52:05,320 Speaker 2: it is a valuable tool because whether or not you 818 00:52:05,440 --> 00:52:07,000 Speaker 2: go to jail, or whether or not you pay a 819 00:52:07,040 --> 00:52:10,160 Speaker 2: lot of fines, having all your neighbors know what you 820 00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:12,800 Speaker 2: did and how you did it, and that the government 821 00:52:12,880 --> 00:52:16,840 Speaker 2: caught you and your guiltiest sin is a valuable deterrent. 822 00:52:17,239 --> 00:52:20,080 Speaker 1: Amen. It makes it that much harder for him to 823 00:52:20,120 --> 00:52:24,200 Speaker 1: ever do it again because he's going to be usual suspects. 824 00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:26,320 Speaker 1: He's always going to be on your list. 825 00:52:26,520 --> 00:52:29,360 Speaker 2: Exactly one hundred percent. And you know, I mentioned that 826 00:52:29,480 --> 00:52:34,799 Speaker 2: the Endangered Species Act has, you know, not great penalties necessarily, 827 00:52:34,920 --> 00:52:37,400 Speaker 2: but where people really start to get into trouble and 828 00:52:37,520 --> 00:52:40,920 Speaker 2: go to jail is when they commit subsequent offenses. So 829 00:52:41,520 --> 00:52:44,799 Speaker 2: if he turns up again in committing a wildlife crime, 830 00:52:45,360 --> 00:52:48,279 Speaker 2: a state or a federal judge is going to look 831 00:52:48,320 --> 00:52:50,759 Speaker 2: at his record and say, well, this is a prior 832 00:52:50,920 --> 00:52:54,080 Speaker 2: violator who didn't learn his lesson before. I'm going to 833 00:52:54,120 --> 00:52:57,480 Speaker 2: send him to jail. So I've seen that before, where 834 00:52:57,560 --> 00:53:01,439 Speaker 2: subsequent violators end up actually doing some pretty good time 835 00:53:01,520 --> 00:53:04,320 Speaker 2: because they demonstrated that they didn't learn a lesson, So 836 00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:05,680 Speaker 2: that's always hanging over his head. 837 00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:10,640 Speaker 1: Ed, I cannot thank you enough, and I'm just gonna again, y'all. 838 00:53:11,560 --> 00:53:14,040 Speaker 1: If you can work this case, you can work any 839 00:53:14,080 --> 00:53:17,839 Speaker 1: case out there. This was I mean, you can call 840 00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:20,040 Speaker 1: some of it luck, but that's not what I see. 841 00:53:20,719 --> 00:53:24,960 Speaker 1: I see literally boots in the snow working this thing 842 00:53:25,080 --> 00:53:28,000 Speaker 1: to the very end, collecting things. You don't even know 843 00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:30,920 Speaker 1: what it's going to result in. You're just going to 844 00:53:31,000 --> 00:53:34,680 Speaker 1: have it and see what comes from it. That's just 845 00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:41,520 Speaker 1: unbelievably solid investigative work, one hundred percent. All right, Ed, 846 00:53:41,760 --> 00:53:43,719 Speaker 1: I will see you in Denver Crime. 847 00:53:43,480 --> 00:53:45,279 Speaker 2: Con looking forward to it. I can't wait. 848 00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:47,799 Speaker 1: Well, y'all, I'm going to end Zone seven the way 849 00:53:47,880 --> 00:53:51,440 Speaker 1: that I always do with a quote. It all starts 850 00:53:51,480 --> 00:53:56,960 Speaker 1: with the Wolves, Peter Woolen Bear, The Hidden Life of Trees. 851 00:53:58,080 --> 00:54:09,640 Speaker 1: I'm Cheryl McCollum, and this his own seven h