Oregon man already charged with deer poaching now faces additional charges – Shaw Local

OREGON – An Oregon man already facing multiple charges for poaching white-tailed deer in Lee and Ogle counties appeared in court Monday on two new charges of theft and illegal possession of a controlled substance after his home was searched earlier this month .

Brandon S. Miller, 30, waived his preliminary hearing on the new charges when he appeared with his attorney, Eric Morrow, before Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe.

Roe has scheduled the next court hearing for Nov. 25 at 1:30 p.m. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Leisten agreed to this appointment.

The new charges against Miller accuse him of knowingly taking “unauthorized control” of a U.S. savings bond valued between $500 and $10,000 in order to “permanently deprive the owner of the use or benefit.”

He is also charged with possession of less than 15 grams of Adderall, a controlled substance, and possession of no more than five cannabis plants.

The theft and controlled substance charges are felonies, while possession of cannabis plants is a civil misdemeanor.

These charges follow an Oct. 3 search of Miller's home by the Ogle County Sheriff's Special Operations Unit with assistance from the Illinois Conservation Police.

Miller already faces multiple charges of poaching white-tailed deer in Lee and Ogle counties, including in a case in which Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation police accuse him of illegally taking six deer from Lowell Park, a city park and nature preserve in Dixon, where entry is prohibited to hunters.

He also received a citation in Ogle County on Sept. 13 for possessing a “freshly killed” male deer during the closed season. In that conservation case, police said they found Miller with a “bloody knife and bloody.” [and] 13-Point Buck” at 3 p.m. on Brooks Island Road, south of Oregon.

A probation violation report was filed on Oct. 21 stating that his probation for a burglary in 2022 should be revoked because of the new charges.

He was charged Feb. 16 in Lee County Court with illegal use of wild game, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison.

However, because of a previous burglary conviction in Ogle County in the last decade, Miller is eligible for an enhanced sentence of two to 10 years.

According to the indictment, Miller “knowingly possessed one or more animal parts, namely, six white-tailed deer, a species protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code, valued at more than $3,000…”

By law, the value is $1,000 per white-tailed deer, plus $500 per point for antlered deer up to 10 points and $750 per point for 11 points or more.

In this case, Miller is accused of taking four dollars and two dollars, one with an eight-point rack and one with an 11-point rack, totaling $18,250.

If convicted, he must pay this amount as mandatory restitution to the IDNR, plus court fines and fees.

The indictment also includes one count of unlawful gaming use and multiple violations, accusing Miller of knowingly violating the law on multiple occasions.

The animals were caught six times from September 27th to October 14th, 2023, the nature conservation police said.

The charge is one to three years, but due to the burglary conviction he faces an increased sentence of one to six years if convicted.

According to the Nature Conservation Police field report:

Miller was interviewed on October 17, 2023 by Officer Randy Leannah about several deer hunts between September 27 and October 4, 2023. Miller initially said he had shot five, but Leannah learned of the sixth during the interview.

During the interview, Miller said he shot animals on September 27, October 3, October 4 and October 8, 2023; the 11-point buck on October 1, 2023 and the eight-point buck on October 14, 2023, all with a crossbow.

The penalty is $1,000 for each deer, $5,000 for the eight-point buck and $9,250 for the 11-point buck.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for November 21 at 1:30 p.m.

Ogle County indictment

In addition to the two felonies in Lee County, Miller is charged with three other felonies and 18 felonies in Ogle County, court records show.

He was charged on December 29, 2023 with two counts of unlawful use of game and faces an extended sentence of two to 10 years in prison, plus mandatory restitution and one additional count of unlawful use of game – multiple violations for which he is also entitled to be charged an extended sentence of one to six years.

According to charging documents, Miller had two white-tailed deer heads each day on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, and both times they were worth more than $3,000. As of Dec. 4, he was in possession of a whitetail worth less than $3,000.

Miller was charged in 2023 with unlawful taking of a white-tailed deer and transporting an uncovered bow, and in December 14, 2023, with using another person's hunting license, unlawful taking or possession of deer and a deer hunting permit violation.

According to Conservation Police information, the last three violations occurred on October 29, 2023 in Lowden Miller State Forest in Oregon.

He was charged with 11 offenses on Jan. 22: two counts of unlawful capture or possession of deer, two counts of deer hunting permit violations, waste of usable meat, unlawful possession of animal parts, taking animals on a highway, unlawful transportation of a weapon ( a bow without a sleeve). ), harassing an animal with the headlights of his vehicle, hunting within 300 meters of an inhabited residential building and hunting at night.

According to the information, the 11 violations occurred on the morning of December 17, 2023 at Lost Lake in rural Dixon, Ogle County.

On the same day, he was charged with trespassing and throwing items from a vehicle in a separate case. According to reports, Miller was at Lost Nation Park after the owner told him he wasn't allowed to be there, and he also threw beer cans out the window of his vehicle.

All of the violations in both counties occurred while Miller was on probation in the Ogle County burglary case, court records show.