4 men cited in deer poaching operation

Four men were cited Dec. 7 for poaching deer in rural Audubon County in western Iowa.

Raymond Causey, 52, of Grand Cane, La., was charged with three counts of illegal transportation and was charged $25,000 in civil damages for killing three buck deer. Causey was charged with similar activity in nearby Cass County in 2008.

Dean Mertes, 55, of Polk City, Iowa, was charged with failure to tag and illegal transportation and assessed $5,000 in civil damages. In addition, Mertes allegedly purchased tags from other Iowa resident hunters for use by the nonresidents.

Joe Waddles Jr., 52, of Keithville, La., was charged with no deer tag, two counts of unlawful take and charged $3,000 in civil damages.

Carl King, 66, of Shreveport, La., was charged with illegal possession of deer.

The men were staying in a camper next to a pole building on property where they had permission to hunt. The investigation uncovered a deer shooting operation where the individuals would illegally shoot a deer and take it to a shed hidden in the middle of a field. There, they would remove the head and hide, then butcher the deer, packing the meat into coolers. They would take the head and hides to the pole building for storage.

Jeremy King, state conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for Audubon County, said investigators witnessed the operation first hand. The investigation began with a call to the DNR Turn in Poachers Hotline.

“This is just one example of how important TIP information is to helping us stop these game thieves,” King said. “These individuals where stealing from others who play by the rules.”

The DNR seized 11 guns, eight buck deer heads, hundreds of pounds of deer meat, an ATV, small trailer and other hunting accessories.

The individuals were taken to the Audubon County Sheriff's Office where they posted bond and were released. King was assisted by conservation officers from Cass, Mills, Montgomery and Shelby counties.