WDFW Police arrest alleged repeat big-game poacher in Clallam County

OLYMPIA – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) Police Officers, along with Clallam County Sheriff deputies, and members of the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team have arrested a man charged with 26 big-game poaching-related crimes.

Jason Bradley Hutt failed to appear for his court hearings regarding a yearlong WDFW Police investigation into the alleged poaching of a wide range of wildlife across the North Olympic Peninsula. On Jan. 16, 2020, the Clallam County Superior Court issued three felony bench warrants for Hutt. WDFW Officers booked Hutt for these warrants, and he is currently being held in the Clallam County jail on $60,000 bail.

Hutt, and his accomplice Wyatt J. Beck had been charged in Jefferson and Clallam Counties with a combined total of 44 criminal violations which occurred from the summer of 2018 to the summer of 2019. 

Hutt had been on the run after failing to appear for a court hearing related to this case. In addition to the previously named crimes, Hutt is now charged with felony bail jumping.

“The public is often instrumental in giving us the ability to catch criminals,” said lead investigating Fish and Wildlife officer, Bryan Davidson. “In this case, we were able to follow up on a public report of a poached black bear, and we found that Beck and Hutt allegedly unlawfully killed three black bears.”

In addition to the bears, the two men are also charged with poaching two bull elk and three buck blacktail deer. The men are charged in Clallam County with unlawfully hunting the three deer, taking an over limit of deer, and unlawfully using an illegal caliber of weapon to hunt big game. The men were also charged in Jefferson County for poaching two bull elk in the Brinnon area in the summer of 2018.

As a result Hutt was charged in Clallam County with hunting/possessing deer without a license, failing to tag deer, unlawfully carrying a loaded pistol in a vehicle in open view, possessing a loaded shotgun, and a rifle in a motor vehicle, and unlawfully possessing bobcat, river otter, and a harlequin duck. Hutt was also charged for possessing methamphetamine found on his person during his arrest. 

“We couldn’t have completed this arrest without the Clallam County Sheriff’s Department and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team,” said Davidson. “Cases like these take the whole community, and we’re grateful for those who provided information to help us in this investigation.”

Hutt is due to appear in Clallam County Superior Court Friday, Feb. 21 and in Jefferson County Superior Court in April for his next court hearings.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is the state agency tasked with preserving, protecting, and perpetuating fish, wildlife, and ecosystems, while providing sustainable fishing, hunting, and other recreation opportunities.