LORAIN — While most Knox Countians were on their way to work Thursday morning, Operation Overkill was being executed by the Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife some 98 miles away. While it may not sound of much interest to area residents, Knox County has just gotten safer.
Operation Overkill resulted in the arrest of nine individuals wanted for poaching deer in Eastern Knox and Western Coshocton counties. The group, dubbed the Saltis Group, has operated in the area for some time, including from late November 2007 until mid-January this year.
“This has been very successful,” said Operation Overkill commander Doug Miller. “It is always successful when we have an operation like this with no incidents. The officers’ safety is our utmost concern. We have also contacted almost every individual we were after, and we’ve collected the evidence we needed. It has been an extremely successful operation.”
Among those arrested were Lorain residents David Saltis, 39; George Saltis Jr., 40; George Saltis Sr., 66; Johnny Saltis, 37; Thomas Saltis, 32; Joaquin Segarra, 39; and Michael Lowe, 52; Jeffrey Saltis, 18, Elyria; and James Strehle, 67, Sheffield Lake.
Knox County Wildlife Officer Mike Miller received the first tip about the group in 2006.
“We received notification through the hotline, and our investigators pooled their knowledge,” said information officer Reno Reda. “Ultimately, we were able to infiltrate their group of poachers and ended up with the arrest of these individuals, and an abundance of deer antlers, meat, weapons and vehicles. It was because of good, old-fashioned police work.”
The two-month investigation netted over 200 charges and 11 felony charges. Knox County was home to 94 of those charges; 87 were attributed to Coshocton County. Several others were from Lorain County, where two taxidermists and a meat processor are also involved. Charges will be filed in Coshocton Municipal Court, Knox County Common Pleas Court and the Mount Vernon Municipal Court.
During the sting operation, investigators who infiltrated the group witnessed 32 deer killed. In addition, group members told them 37 deer were shot in 2006. In 2005, the same group had 31 road-kill permits in Lorain County.
According to two other tips called into the Turn-In-a-Poacher line and two from an informant, the group was killing deer between Danville and Cavallo. In 2006, group members were said to be staying in a camper in Coshocton County near the Mohican River. ODNR officials called the group “real bold” because the members never stopped their vehicle, and shot from main roads and back roads during daylight hours.
According to information provided by the Division of Wildlife, the group was commuting daily from Lorain to the Danville-Cavallo area. In order to be undetected, they would rotate vehicles. Four vehicles were seized in Thursday’s raids.
Members of the group are also accused of killing deer in Lorain County, including one within 200 yards of a local police station.
“We had a team of approximately 60 officers divided into seven groups. There were search warrants and arrest warrants executed simultaneously,” said Reda of Thursday’s activities.
At the home of George Saltis Jr., six deer mounts were seized as well as deer hide and meat. Several freezers full of meat were taken from several of the accused’s homes.
“We can’t say conclusively where all of the deer seized were from, but some of them are believed to be [from Knox County,]” said Reda. “Some of those taken illegally are still at the taxidermist, which is being checked as well.”
Crossbows and rifles were also seized as evidence.
“All of the evidence was there that we were expecting,” said Doug Miller. “From what I hear, there are probably hundreds of pounds of deer meat taken from the residences. Several deer mounts, firearms, bows and vehicles have all been seized. Everything we were looking for was there.
“We are going to seek forfeiture of many items and anything illegal,” he added. “There are several different things we can do with the weapons. We will follow our policy.”
“The evidence substantiated what our documentation already proved, and actually, opened up the potential for additional charges on the same individuals that were arrested today,” said Mike Miller. “At the same time, there will be some charges pending against up to 11 additional people who are involved or loosely involved.”
Charges include felonies for the illegal handling of firearms, as well as misdemeanor wildlife violations such as shooting deer from the roadway, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, taking more than the bag limit of deer, taking more than one buck deer, hunting on private property without permission, failing to tag and check deer, hunting outside of legal hunting hours, using a radio for hunting purposes, and hunting deer without a deer permit.
“Some of the most serious crimes stem from shooting from a vehicle,” said Reda. “That’s a safety issue. It’s a huge, huge issue.”
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is assisting in the transport of five of those arrested. They will be transported to Knox County today, by Mike Miller and reserve deputy Jerry Scott.
“Everything went extremely smooth, probably the smoothest that we’ve had with this type of large recovery operation,” said Mike Miller. “We got all of our arrests, conducted bunches of interviews and collected a tremendous amount of additional evidence. We interviewed two or three taxidermists, meat processors and others. It was extremely successful.
“This addresses a lot of complaints that we’ve received over the last two years, particularly the last year.”
David A. Saltis, 39, Lorain — charged with two felonies; possessing a firearm while under disability and shooting from a motor vehicle. Saltis is also charged with 68 misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, taking more than the bag limit of deer, taking more than one buck deer, hunting on private property without permission, failing to tag and check deer, possession of untagged deer, transporting an illegally taken deer, killing and leaving deer without tagging, hunting outside of legal hunting hours, using a radio for hunting purposes, and hunting deer without a deer permit.
•George Saltis Jr., 40, Lorain — charged with one felony of shooting from a motor vehicle as well as 31 misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting on private property without permission, failing to tag and check deer, hunting deer without a deer permit, litter, and aiding an offender.
•George Saltis Sr., 66, Lorain — charged with two felonies: complicity and shooting from a motor vehicle. Saltis Sr. was also charged with 23 misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting on private property without permission, transporting an illegally taken deer, possession of an untagged deer, aiding an offender and failing to tag deer.
•Johnny Saltis, 37, of Lorain faces one felony charge for shooting from a motor vehicle, as well as 32 misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: shooting deer from the road, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting on private property without permission, failing to tag and check deer, possession of untagged deer, transporting an illegally taken deer, hunting outside of legal hunting hours, aiding an offender, littering, and hunting deer without a deer permit, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
•Thomas E. Saltis, 32, Lorain — charged with two misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, and shooting deer from the road.
•Jeffrey A. Saltis, 18, Elyria — charged with four misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, shooting across a roadway, and aiding an offender.
•James E. Strehle, 67, Sheffield Lake — charged with two felony counts of complicity, as well as 29 misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: shooting from the road, hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, hunting on private property without permission, failing to tag and check deer, possession of untagged deer, transporting an illegally taken deer, hunting outside of legal hunting hours, using a radio for hunting purposes, and aiding an offender.
•Joaquin Segarra, 39, Lorain — charged with one felony for possession of a firearm while under disability. Segarra is also charged with three misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: hunting with the aid of a motor vehicle, possession of untagged deer, and transporting an illegally taken deer.
•Michael C. Lowe, 52, Lorain — charged with three misdemeanor wildlife violations, including: providing false information to a check station, attaching a deer tag to a deer taken by another person, and permanently tagging a deer that was taken by another person.