From Hudson Sangree
A couple of dead deer could buy two Sacramento men up to the three years in prison each in a poaching case.
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig today announced the Oct. 1 convictions of Andrew Thao and Ernest Lytell for deer poaching and other crimes.
The crimes occurred in November 2007, when the men led Yolo County Sheriff's deputies on a high-speed chase to West Sacramento, according to a statement by the prosecutor's office.
When the truck was finally stopped, the occupants fled, the statement said. Deputies found two large buck deer in the back along with rifles, ammunition and a spotlight.
Three out of four suspects were quickly caught. One was a juvenile; a fourth remains at large, prosecutors said.
Jurors convicted Thao and Lytell of fish-and-game violations, resisting arrest and other crimes, according to Reisig's office.
They each face a maximum of three years in prison when they are sentenced later this month.
"Crimes against wildlife are taken seriously in Yolo County," Clinton Parish, the deputy district attorney who prosecuted the case, said in the statement. "This is a matter of public safety as well as protecting our environment."
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