A Pocatello man who prosecutors say made more than $55,000 running an illegal hunting operation has been sentenced to prison and permanently stripped of his hunting privileges.
According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Joelseph Jenkins was sentenced June 2 in Teton County after pleading guilty to multiple wildlife-related offenses uncovered during a lengthy, multi-county investigation.
The biggest penalties weren’t small.
Jenkins received concurrent prison sentences of two years determinate plus two years indeterminate for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and felony possession of unlawfully taken wildlife. He also received concurrent six-month county jail sentences for guiding without a license and maintaining an illegal bear bait site.
Perhaps the punishment that will sting the longest is a lifetime revocation of his hunting license, along with a permanent ban on accompanying other hunters in the field.
Investigators say Jenkins operated an unlawful guiding business tied to a hunting sweepstakes promoted on an Oklahoma radio program. The operation allegedly brought paying hunters to eastern Idaho, where conservation officers say wildlife was taken illegally.
By the time the investigation wrapped up, officers had connected Jenkins to the unlawful harvest of nine big-game animals: including five black bears and four elk (three bulls and one cow).
Officials also determined he profited more than $55,000 from the illegal guiding scheme.
The case stretched across multiple counties and uncovered a long list of alleged violations, including guiding without a license, unlawful possession of wildlife, placing illegal bear bait, trespassing to hunt, violating forest road closures, using a motor vehicle to molest big game, aiding and abetting wildlife crimes, and failing to remove bear bait sites after the season.
In addition to prison time, Jenkins must pay $9,750 in restitution for the unlawfully taken wildlife, along with $1,498.50 in fines and court costs.
Idaho Fish and Game credited the public for helping bring the case to a close, reminding hunters that tips about wildlife crimes play a critical role in protecting the state’s fish and game resources.
The agency also thanked prosecutors from Power, Caribou, Bannock, Jefferson, and Teton counties for pursuing the case.
For anyone tempted to cut corners, the outcome sends a clear message.
Poaching doesn’t just carry fines anymore. In serious cases like this, it can cost you your freedom, your hunting privileges and any future opportunity to hunt legally in Idaho.
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