Idaho pair charged in poaching scheme

An Idaho man’s outdoor guiding license, as well as his hunting and trapping licenses, have been revoked for seven years after he pleaded guilty to poaching a bighorn ram, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Joe Willmorth, 49, and his wife, Susan, 58, reportedly killed two bighorn rams and tried to pass their trophies off as a single animal after Susan drew a rare bighorn ram tag in 2017.

“In 2017, only one bighorn sheep hunt tag was allotted for hunt unit 40, an area encompassing the vast southwest corner of Idaho,” Fish and Game said in a news release. “Thirty-nine people applied for the coveted tag, which ultimately was awarded to Susan Willmorth.”

The Parma couple spent several weekends scouting the Owyhees, where they had tracked a ram they referred to as “old man.” Joe acted as Susan’s guide on the trips. However, when the bighorn hunting season opened, they were unable to find the “old man.” Instead, Susan bagged “a fine, trophy bighorn sheep,” Fish and Game said.

On Oct. 6, Joe Willmorth took a bighorn sheep head to Fish and Game’s Nampa office, along with his wife’s proxy statement, to have its horns measured and an identification pin attached, which is required by Idaho law. Joe Willmorth reportedly said his wife harvested the animal on Oct. 1. A Fish and Game employee pinned and measured the trophy ram and took several photos.

The following February, Fish and Game received a tip about the Willmorths’ hunt. Investigators seized the trophy ram head, a salted bighorn sheep hide and some electronics. During the investigation, the Willmorths maintained their innocence, the agency said.

DNA tests from the ram’s head and the hide showed they came from two different animals. Photos from cell phones seized from the Willmorths showed Susan posing with a freshly harvested bighorn on Sept. 23, while other photos date stamped Oct. 1 showed live sheep and another freshly killed sheep.

“Officers then compared the photo of Susan Willmorth posing with her harvested ram, to photos of the ram checked on Oct. 6, and deduced that they were two different sheep,” the news release said.

Both Joe and Susan Willmorth were charged with unlawful possession of a bighorn sheep. Susan Willmorth took a plea deal that led to charges against her being dismissed. Joe Willmorth entered an Alford plea — meaning he acknowledged there was enough evidence to convict him but did not admit guilt.

Joe Willmorth was sentenced in Canyon County in November by Magistrate Judge Debra Orr. He was given a $10,000 civil penalty, and Orr opted to suspend a six-month jail sentence in favor of two years of unsupervised probation.

His outdoor guiding license, as well as his hunting and trapping licenses, were revoked for seven years. He’s also barred from being present in hunting or trapping camps or accompanying anyone on a hunting or trapping trip. Violating those terms would mean a six-month jail sentence.

Orr also ordered the couple to turn over the trophy ram head to Fish and Game, though the agency said that the head hasn’t been delivered.

“It will one day hang in the Nampa Fish and Game office, together with the story of how it came to reside there,” the news release said.