On June 4, Virginia Game Warden Bruce Lemmert arrested Colin Clem, 61, of Linden, after reading several entries in which the man describes killing pets, according to a criminal complaint filed in Fauquier County General District Court.
The game warden used a June 7, 2004, journal entry to charge Mr. Clem with cruelty to animals. Mr. Clem wrote that he shot a cat out of a tree for his border collie Meg, according to court records.
The man's journals document 28 occasions on which he and his son killed companion animals, according to the game warden.
"I had a cat in my live trap. I let it out for Meg to tree. I shot it out and it bailed and made it to their barn. Hopefully to die," he wrote April 4, 2004, according to the criminal complaint.
Mr. Clem was released on his own recognizance and will appear in general district court Oct. 17. The misdemeanor cruelty to animal charge pales in comparison to several federal charges Mr. Clem faces as a result of his alleged participation in a poaching ring that stretched across the entire country.
Mr. Clem, along with nine other men, will go on trial next fall in New Mexico.
A federal indictment states Mr. Clem and others - including his son Jeffrey Clem - accepted money from client hunters after leading them on illegal hunts, frequently on Indian lands.
The indictment charges the men accepted between $1,000 and $2,500 for each guided hunt. The men instructed the hunters to shoot and kill elk, bear, antelope, oryx (similar to antelope) and bobcats, according to the indictment.
Mr. Clem could spend five years in prison if convicted on the federal poaching charges. Case UpdatesA Linden man charged with cruelty to animals has pleaded guilty. According to court records, Colin Clem entered the plea in General District Court on May 15, 2006.
The offense is a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.
Clem, who was represented by Blair Howard, was sentenced to 12 months in jail, but the sentence was suspended in its entirety. He must now serve 12 months of supervised probation.
Court records show that Game Warden Bruce Lemmert charged Clem with the offense last summer.
The charge stemmed from an incident that occurred on June 7, 2004. Specifically, Clem was accused of harming a companion animal.
In a criminal complaint, Lemmert said that the matter is documented in Clem's personal journals, which were seized as part of a federal investigation in 2004.
"On June 7, 2004, Colin Clem documents that he shot a cat out of a tree for 'Meg' his dog," Lemmert stated in the complaint. "Companion animals cannot be killed. In the last decade, Colin Clem has documented at least 28 companion animals killed by himself and his son, Jeremy Clem. This has been done, according to Colin Clem, with guns and traps," Lemmert said.
Colin Clem has also been investigated for alleged illegal hunting activities here.
"The journals of Colin Clem cite numerous instances of illegal activity with respect to fish and wildlife violations in Virginia," Lemmert stated in a search warrant affidavit filed in Fauquier County Circuit Court last spring. Dozens of journal entries documenting the alleged hunting violations, including unlawful baiting and trapping, are included in the affidavit.
In a statement issued last spring, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said that Colin Clem was among 10 people indicated by a federal grand jury for alleged violations of federal wildlife laws in New Mexico.
One of the men owns an outdoor outfitting company and a taxidermy business in New Mexico, while another owns a taxidermy business in Amissville.
"The other individuals are guides employed by Mark V. Outfitters," according to the statement. "(They) would act as guides and outfitters for the hunter clients."
The men are accused of "providing guiding, outfitting and other services for money which resulted in the unlawful taking and selling of wildlife with a market value in excess of $350."
Such activities are prohibited by the Lacey Act, a federal statute that forbids the sale, purchase or transportation of illegally taken game. | Source: Fauquier Times Democrat - May 23, 2006 Update posted on Jun 16, 2006 - 9:33PM |
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