Texas Game Warden Notes: Port-A-Potty Deer Blind & Fake Hay Bale

Quick Capsule

• Texas Game Wardens Have Some Bizarre Stories From the Past Few Months

• A Port-A-Potty Deer Blind Led to Charges

• There Was No Fooling a K9's Nose

Texas Game Wardens have a dangerous job, and they deserve our respect and thanks. They will also be the first to tell you that they also experience some very bizarre, 'shake-my-head' moments on the job, as well.

Here are a few strange events that were recently released by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Flushing Out a Poacher

On the first weekend of the 2024 deer season, Henderson County Game Wardens filed charges against a man for hunting without landowner consent.

The incident had been under investigation since 2023 when they found a bizarre hunting blind. It was basically a converted port-a-potty, complete with a half-hearted attempt to camouflage.

Authorities were unable to catch the suspect last year. This past deer season, however, wardens set up a game camera along the property line in hopes the hunter would return to hunt the same unusual blind.

He did.

On the opening morning of deer season, the camera captured the suspect walking to his "toilet stand." Wardens confronted the hunter and he confessed to hunting without permission. Charges were filed, and the man removed the blind and feeder from the property.

A shout out to the game wardens who took the proper action when duty called.

Bailout Results in Bale-Out

In south Texas, a Texas Game Warden and his K9 partner, Jake, were called to track a suspect who had bailed out from a pick-up truck. The game warden was asked for this help while assisting other law enforcement agencies as part of Operation Lone Star.

Before starting their search for the bailout, Jake alerted them to the empty pick-up truck. However, Jake's handler convinced his partner to leave the vehicle alone and pursue the track of the bailout suspect.

After successfully locating and aiding in the apprehension of their suspect, the game warden received a call from another agent at the original scene and was surprised to learn that Jake had been on point.

A large round hay bale in the bed of the truck had just flipped over, revealing 10 undocumented individuals hiding inside the hollowed-out fake hay bale.

Somebody owes Jake an apology and some extra treats.

Venom and Vice

A Milam County Game Warden received a call on Feb. 1 from a concerned landlord about a tenant reportedly keeping several venomous snakes in an apartment near the Cameron ISD Middle School. Game wardens from Travis and Williamson counties, along with the Milam County Sheriff’s Office, assisted with the investigation.

The suspect admitted to possessing multiple snakes and allowed wardens to inspect them. Inside the apartment, wardens observed what appeared to be methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in plain sight.

A field test confirmed the substance as methamphetamine, and the suspect was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. The tenant’s apartment is located within 1,000 feet of a school, placing the offense within a designated drug-free zone.

After being read his rights, he confessed to keeping a monocled cobra, a green bush viper, rat snakes, bull snakes and approximately 25 rattlesnakes—without the required permit or a hunting license.

Wardens seized the reptiles and transferred them to a licensed permit holder who was equipped to care for them.

The suspect now faces multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance penalty group 1, possession of drug paraphernalia, no valid hunting license and a violation for the lack of a non-indigenous snake permit.