DNA analysis has been used for years to help solve all sorts of criminal cases among humans. Relying on genetic profiling of bodily fluids, hair and other tissues recovered at a crime scene, forensic scientists are able to solve some cases that otherwise may have ended with the bad guys slipping through the cracks of the system.
Now genetic profiling has entered the great outdoors.
Many national and state wildlife agencies often use DNA analysis to help catch poachers. Law enforcement officials have also used genetic profiling to break up endangered wildlife species smuggling rings and to win convictions in theft cases involving prize big game animals used in wildlife breeding operations.
A "Goliath" of a case
One of the most high profile wildlife cases in which DNA evidence was used involved a giant whitetail breeder buck named "Goliath" and a pair of deer ranchers from Pennsylvania.
The case arose after the deer went missing from one ranch and was discovered four years later on another ranch, just 28 miles down the road. Attorneys got involved, charges were filed and the case subsequently raged into a lengthy litigation battle that finally ended in 2006 after DNA analysis of the buck's antlers proved that the monster whitetail found on Jeffery Spence's White Oak Whitetails farm in 2003 was indeed the same buck that Rodney and Diane Miller had purchased as a fawn in 1997.
The Miller's bought the buck with intentions of using it for breeding at their Wild Bunch Ranch deer farm in Knox, Pa. They had high hopes for Goliath's prodigy, too.
A 2-year-old in 1999, the same year it was stolen, the deer sported a 28-point rack and scored in excess of 200 Boone & Crockett points. The deer grew its best set of antlers in 2003, the same year it was recovered. Its rack had 68 scorable points and had a gross score of 410 6/8 B&C as a non-typical.
Jefferson County district attorney Jeff Burkett ordered the DNA testing to compare antlers shed by the buck as a 1 1/2-year-old and those it was wearing when it was recovered. The buck's antlers were much larger in 2003, but the genetic codes between the two racks were a match. Spence was eventually found guilty in the case, did some jail time and was ordered to pay the Miller's restitution fees.
"Had we not had that one set of sheds, it would have been hard to prove," Rodney Miller said. "The DNA evidence is what sealed this case for us. DNA does not lie."
DNA: genetic trail to poachers
A quick Internet search turned up a number of other wildlife-oriented cases in which genetic pawprints have lead game wardens to the doorsteps of poachers.
The Anchorage Daily News in Alaska cited a 1993 case in which a hunting guide illegally killed a sheep in a national park. The man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and forfeited his airplane to the government after DNA evidence linked meat tissues found at the scene to meat found at the suspect's camp.
The newspaper also cited a 1997 case in which DNA testing provided evidence that two retired game wardens from Alabama wasted meat after killing a caribou. The wardens were fined $5,000 apiece and placed on probation.
Genetic fingerprinting also has been used to help prosecutors win convictions in elk, deer, bear and antelope poaching cases in several different states. Texas is among them.
In many instances, big game poaching cases begin with the discovery of a suspect gut pile or carcass in the woods. Such a pile or carcass could eventually lead investigators to the home of a suspect poacher with a search warrant in hand.
Using blood or tissue samples obtained from a firearm, ice chest or the tailgate of a pickup, investigators are often able to tie a suspect to a crime scene months after the fact. Even the meat in a freezer or the mounted head of a buck hanging over a fireplace can be traced back to a deer hide or rib cage left behind in the woods by a game thief.
In Oregon, DNA testing was instrumental in leading authorities to a poacher who killed a bear illegally over a bait station. The bear's hide was recovered at a taxidermist shop and eventually linked to a gut pile found near the spot where it was killed.
Closer to home, DNA testing has been instrumental in helping attorneys gain convictions in numerous cases filed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens. Though it is not needed in every case, Texas game wardens say genetic fingerprinting can be very useful.
"We have used DNA testing quite a bit," said TPWD capt. game warden Shawn Phillips of Lufkin. "The circumstances are different in every case, but many times it is a very useful tool in aiding us in the apprehension of game law violators."
Wildlife forensics in Texas
Beverly Villarreal is the play-maker TPWD game wardens look to when they need assistance in an investigation that requires DNA analysis.
Villarreal is a 19-year veteran with the TPWD and is the state's lead forensic scientist. She operates out of a high-tech laboratory at the A.E. Woods Fish Hatchery in San Marcos.
Villarreal joined the TPWD's forensics program in 1989. Her early research was aimed at performing species identification. In 1996, she began conducting gender analysis on white-tailed deer, the most popular big game animal in the state. Her work with whitetails expanded to include DNA profiling in 1999.
The scientist said DNA profiling on wildlife is conducted along the same lines followed by forensics experts in human crime labs, with a slightly different twist.
"Human crime labs have been utilizing DNA profiling for years," she said. "The technology is very similar with wildlife. We just look at different parts of the DNA."
Villarreal said most of her casework involves white-tailed deer. How frequently she is called upon to perform DNA analysis by game wardens can vary.
Often times, Villarreal says, suspects in game violation cases will insist they are innocent or hold their cards close to the vest until a game warden begins collecting evidence. It is fairly common for a suspect to crater once he or she learns the evidence is destined to a forensics lab for testing, particularly if they know they are guilty to begin with.
"I don't even get to see many of the cases, because they don't make it this far," Villarreal said. "A lot of poachers may not necessarily be aware that we have a crime lab in Texas. Often times, once they learn that the evidence is going to be tested, they go ahead and confess. It's pretty powerful stuff."
One case Villarreal was involved with recently came to a head before a courtroom jury in East Texas.
According to to TPWD reports, an Angelina County jury on Oct. 1 sentenced David Peters, 35, of Zavalla to two years in the state jail and $3,000 fine for hunting without landowner consent. The defendant has since filed an appeal in the case.
According to Angelina County district attorney Clyde Herrington, the alleged offense took place last fall when the complainant, John Renfro, and his wife went to their deer lease to hunt deer. When Renfro and his wife arrived at their deer stand, Herrington said they saw a man in a nearby shooting lane with a dead deer, an 8-point buck.
Herrington said Renfro approached the man and told him he was not supposed to be hunting there. Herrington said the man appeared agitated and made threatening remarks towards Renfro before fleeing the scene, leaving the field-dressed buck behind. The attorney noted that the deer had been shot through the spine.
Herrington said Renfro reported the incident to Angelina County game wardens James Barge and Heath Bragg, who in turn gathered evidence from the scene. The evidence included tissues collected from the deer carcass as well as three Budweiser beer cans found at the deer stand.
Herrington said the game wardens' investigation eventually lead to Peters. Peters denied any involvement with the incident when he was initially questioned by the game wardens, according to Herrington.
Herrington said game wardens later executed a search warrant, which lead to the seizure of a rifle. Law enforcement officers also used buccal swabs to collect a DNA sample from Peters, the attorney said.
Villarreal's DNA analysis of blood found on the rifle indicated it was a correct match for the deer in question. Herrington added that testing of the DNA sample obtained from Peters matched the DNA of the saliva found on the beer cans.
According to the TPWD news release, "the evidence ultimately proved that Peters, the owner of the gun in question, had been at the crime scene."
The news release also stated that Peters' girlfriend's father contacted Barge nearly a year after the offense allegedly took place. According to the release, the man told told the game warden that he had told a false story earlier in the investigation about a time when Peters had arrived at his house, a statement which had given Peters an alibi.
The girlfriend's father said that he had spoken to Peters while he had been illegally hunting and that Peters had stated he was hunting on the complainant's land. Herrinton's office helped secure a court order to obtain cell phone records to support the father's statement.
In the end, the DNA analysis was too strong to deny.
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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