DNA evidence leads to conviction of Reno man in poaching case

Tuesday, July 24, 2001 | 4:16 a.m.

Ernest Robert Reed, 66, was convicted July 12 in Mono County Superior Court in Bridgeport, Calif., of two counts of poaching.

He faces up to a year in jail and possible fines as determined by the court when sentenced Aug. 3, said Steve Martarano, spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game in Sacramento.

On Jan. 10 - about three months after the legal deer hunting season had closed in California - a Caltrans employee reported seeing a dead deer in the back of Reed's truck on Monitor Pass along Highway 89, authorities said.

Reed had driven away by the time Game Warden Ernie Acosta and Alpine County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Bennett arrived at the scene. But two dead mule deer - a doe and a buck - were found laying on a tarp near the road.

When Reed was later tracked down, authorities confiscated a scoped rifle and noticed blood in the bed of his truck.

Blood and tissue samples from the deer were sent to the wildlife agency's forensics laboratory in Rancho Cordova. DNA tests then matched a blood sample from the back of Reed's truck with one of the deer found on the tarp.

The results were also confirmed by a private genetic identification firm and scientists at UCLA, prosecutors said.

Deputy Fish and Game Chief Fed Cole said Reed tried to keep the DNA results out of court on grounds that California law does not recognize it as evidence.

His motion to suppress was rejected by the Superior Court.

"This case, which was a very successful team effort, will set a precedent for future case evidence involving DNA for our wardens investigating wildlife crimes," Cole said.

"The ability to use DNA in these types of cases is a very beneficial law enforcement tool."