Wardens an the Sheriffs are one in the same
Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:10 pm
Iv posted plenty of comments in regards to game wardens in california giving the houndsman the 3rd degree. Yesterday I was pulled over by the sheriffs department after a morning hunt. It seems the treatment we have been getting by the wardens has now been extended to include the local sheriffs dept.
Coming home from a morning hunt at my ranch outside of king city (california) yesterday morning around noon I got pulled over by a Monterey county sheriff. He came up to the window and asked for my licence ect. He said I was speeding. He came back to the window and asked me to step out of the rig. I walked out and had a seat on his front bumper.
He asked me what the box was for and I told him it was for holding hog dogs. He proceded to ask me where I was comming from and I told him I had a ranch just outside of town. He asked if I had any weapons in the vehicle. I told him yes and all the weapons I had were stored in the vehile were done legally. He asked to search the vehicle and I told him no. We then had a 10 minute conversation that could be described as just short of an argument about why I wouldnt consent to a vehicle search. His reasons were about not having anything to hide and my reasons were about not submiting to a search that was unnecessary. During that conversation he asked me to consend to a search 3 to 4 more times. My answer remained no.
Three more sheriff deputys arrived. He then asked the 2 passengers to exit the vehicle and join me at the cruser bumper. The deputy then proceded to search the vehicle and remove a rifle in a locked case from under the back seat. I asked the backup deputy why he was searching my vehicle if I did not consent to a vehicle search. He shruged his shoulders and then proceded to wisper into his mic and talk to the deputy searching. I asked if I was going to get an answer to why he was searching before or after he was done searching my truck. The searching deputy came over to me 5 minutes after he began his search and told me he had probabale cause. He said "your poaching. I know it". I asked him why we went through the motions of asking for permition to search and he said it was just to see what I would say.
The deputy continued to search for another 5 minutes and came back to me and said he had probable cause to search because there was ammo in the vehicle with the rifle and that was his probable cause. I asked him how he was able to come to that conclusion if he didnt search my vehicle in the first place. He said he could take me to jail on the weapon in the vehicle and I should "marinade on that before I spoke any further".
The deputy finished the search the interior of the truck and asked me to unlock my tool box. I told him no. He asked me numerous times as to the contents of my toolbox and for me to unock it. He asked me "officially" if I was hiding a hog in the toolbox. I told him no. He said if I didnt unlock it then they were going to pry it open. I shook my head no. He instructed 2 of the deputies to open it. They played with the lock to see if they could pick it. What they didnt know was that it was unlocked and all they had to do was open it. Finally they opened the toolbox, searched and found my hunting gear, pistol and nothing illegal.
At the end of this almost 2 hour ordeal I recieved a speeding ticket for doing 60mph in a 55mph zone. Before the deputy let me go he assured me I was getting a break because he could have arrested me for having a gun and ammunition in the cab together. I also discovered that the ammo that the deputies found in the vehicle was a few 41.mag pistol rounds in the center console. I was under the impression from the deputy that the ammo he discovered in the cab was rifle ammo for the rifle in the case under the back seat.
Im sick of this crap. All just because I had a dog box
Coming home from a morning hunt at my ranch outside of king city (california) yesterday morning around noon I got pulled over by a Monterey county sheriff. He came up to the window and asked for my licence ect. He said I was speeding. He came back to the window and asked me to step out of the rig. I walked out and had a seat on his front bumper.
He asked me what the box was for and I told him it was for holding hog dogs. He proceded to ask me where I was comming from and I told him I had a ranch just outside of town. He asked if I had any weapons in the vehicle. I told him yes and all the weapons I had were stored in the vehile were done legally. He asked to search the vehicle and I told him no. We then had a 10 minute conversation that could be described as just short of an argument about why I wouldnt consent to a vehicle search. His reasons were about not having anything to hide and my reasons were about not submiting to a search that was unnecessary. During that conversation he asked me to consend to a search 3 to 4 more times. My answer remained no.
Three more sheriff deputys arrived. He then asked the 2 passengers to exit the vehicle and join me at the cruser bumper. The deputy then proceded to search the vehicle and remove a rifle in a locked case from under the back seat. I asked the backup deputy why he was searching my vehicle if I did not consent to a vehicle search. He shruged his shoulders and then proceded to wisper into his mic and talk to the deputy searching. I asked if I was going to get an answer to why he was searching before or after he was done searching my truck. The searching deputy came over to me 5 minutes after he began his search and told me he had probabale cause. He said "your poaching. I know it". I asked him why we went through the motions of asking for permition to search and he said it was just to see what I would say.
The deputy continued to search for another 5 minutes and came back to me and said he had probable cause to search because there was ammo in the vehicle with the rifle and that was his probable cause. I asked him how he was able to come to that conclusion if he didnt search my vehicle in the first place. He said he could take me to jail on the weapon in the vehicle and I should "marinade on that before I spoke any further".
The deputy finished the search the interior of the truck and asked me to unlock my tool box. I told him no. He asked me numerous times as to the contents of my toolbox and for me to unock it. He asked me "officially" if I was hiding a hog in the toolbox. I told him no. He said if I didnt unlock it then they were going to pry it open. I shook my head no. He instructed 2 of the deputies to open it. They played with the lock to see if they could pick it. What they didnt know was that it was unlocked and all they had to do was open it. Finally they opened the toolbox, searched and found my hunting gear, pistol and nothing illegal.
At the end of this almost 2 hour ordeal I recieved a speeding ticket for doing 60mph in a 55mph zone. Before the deputy let me go he assured me I was getting a break because he could have arrested me for having a gun and ammunition in the cab together. I also discovered that the ammo that the deputies found in the vehicle was a few 41.mag pistol rounds in the center console. I was under the impression from the deputy that the ammo he discovered in the cab was rifle ammo for the rifle in the case under the back seat.
Im sick of this crap. All just because I had a dog box
