Eleven people have now been convicted and sentenced after what officials describe as a two-year undercover probe into an illegal deer-hunting ring in southeast Ohio. Investigators say five of those defendants were Michigan residents who crossed into Ohio to take antlered bucks at night.
According to CBS Detroit, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife launched the investigation in 2023 after receiving tips and eventually “infiltrated the group,” gathering photos and videos that showed spotlighting and other violations. Wildlife officers moved in on a group of five hunters in January 2025 in Guernsey County, with help from the Guernsey County Sheriff’s Office and its drone unit, the agency said. The case stretched across several counties and led to prosecutions in courts in Licking, Muskingum and Cambridge.
Local coverage from FOX 2 Detroit names the Michigan defendants and details some of the fallout. James Barrett, 28, of Harrison Township, was convicted on multiple counts and received a combination of a short jail sentence, probation and 300 days of house arrest with electronic monitoring. The station reports that fellow Michigan hunters Todd Brown of Atlanta, Paul and James Laurain of Sterling Heights, and Jonathan Ricker of Washington Township were ordered to pay fines and restitution and lost their hunting privileges for multiple years.
New Media Detroit adds that the remaining defendants were from Illinois, West Virginia and Ohio. That outlet, along with court records, notes that penalties in the broader case included forfeiture of deer antlers and restitution to the owner of a stolen cellular trail camera tied to the scheme.
Sentences and penalties
Across the various courts, sentences ranged from fines and community service to suspended jail terms, short stretches behind bars, lengthy probation, house arrest with GPS monitoring and three-year hunting license revocations. FOX 2 Detroit reports that some defendants were ordered to pay thousands of dollars in restitution and surrender deer antlers under court orders. Judges in Muskingum and Licking counties also required certain defendants to return a stolen cellular trail camera or compensate its owner. Prosecutors told reporters that the mix of fines, forfeitures and hunting bans was designed to address both property damage and the conservation impact of organized nighttime hunting.
What the law says
Ohio hunting rules explicitly prohibit spotlighting wild animals from vehicles, hunting from motor vehicles and using aircraft or drones to assist in hunting. The state’s manual notes that drones may only be used to help recover a deer after it has been legally taken. The regulations also require hunters to follow tagging and game-check procedures and allow for fines, license suspensions and criminal charges in cases of violations, as outlined in the state’s hunting and trapping guide. The Division of Wildlife’s guide lists a reporting line for suspected violations at 1-800-POACHER.
The Ohio DNR told reporters that the final defendant in the case was recently sentenced, closing out the long-running investigation, according to CBS Detroit. Wildlife officials credited public tips and cooperation with the Michigan DNR and urged hunters and landowners to report suspicious activity to help safeguard Ohio’s deer herds.
