TIPTON, Iowa – Andy Wulf, 29, of Tipton, owner of Whitetail Ridge Outfitter, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his clients to illegally hunt deer.
The case began with a call to the Turn in Poachers hotline in January that sent officers to a property near Buchanan in west central Cedar County. With the help of aerial surveillance, officers located piles of corn, alfalfa and minerals, and several individuals nearby.
Officers on the ground made contact with Ron Maguire, 48, of Grand Ledge, Mich., Blaine Burley, 47, of Wrightsville, Ga., and Robert Johnson, 51, of Oostburg, Wis., and Wulf, who was guiding the nonresidents that were clients of Whitetail Ridge Outfitters.
Maguire, Burley and Johnson were found guilty and each paid a $195 fine and forfeited their equipment.
As part of a plea deal, Wulf pleaded guilty of two counts of aiding and abetting hunting over bait, fined $195 for each count, and received a deferred prosecution of a third count. If Wulf violates any fish or game laws during the next year, he will be prosecuted on the third charge.
During the investigation, officers charged Tyler Tisue, 32, of Bettendorf, with a hunting violation on the same property.
