Talk about being bold but foolish. A poacher in Idaho shot a deer on the lawn of an elementary school. He then came back two hours later to load up the animal's body in his truck.
Authorities sentenced Lars Nelson on February 18. They found him guilty of shooting a white-tailed deer buck on the front lawn of the Orofino Elementary School in Orofino. They sentenced him to a $1,000 fine ($500 suspended), $165 in court fees, a $400 civil penalty, and a $75 processing fee. He will also serve two weekends in jail and two years of unsupervised probation as well.
"It's a crazy one. Never in my life would I have thought that I would have investigated a poaching case at an elementary school," Idaho Fish and Game conservation officer Luke Guasco told Cowboy State Daily. "It struck everyone as, 'what the heck was this guy doing?' The deer season had closed, he didn't have a license, and he shot a deer inside city limits."
Authorities were shocked by the boldness of the poacher. Since it was night, no children were at the school. But surveillance captured the entire thing, including Nelson's truck.
"I first cited him in June of 2025," he said. It would take time for authorities to piece everything together. "The DNA evidence we sent off to the lab took forever to process."
Poacher Found Guilty
Fish and Game said in a statement, "After reviewing hundreds of hours of video footage, Idaho Fish and Game officers identified the suspect as Lars Nelson of Peck, Idaho. A search warrant executed at a residence in Asotin, Washington, where Nelson had been staying, led to the seizure of the suspected vehicle, clothing worn during the offense, and deer parts. Forensic testing confirmed blood collected at the residence matched blood recovered at the school. The meat and antlers were never located."
The convicted poacher also pleaded not guilty. But the court found otherwise and convicted him. Nelson hasn't revealed what made him think killing a deer on school grounds was a smart idea. Authorities declined to speculate. "There are multiple theories as to why, but we might never know the exact motive," Guasco said.
