Guide led illegal big game hunts in Alaska, feds say. Now he’s prison bound

An Alaska man who pleaded guilty to illegally selling and guiding hunts has been sentenced to prison, federal authorities said.

Stephen Jeremy Hicks, 45, was accused of violating the Lacey Act and other state and federal laws by guiding hunts for clients on state and federally managed lands without a permit, taking big game without paying for the required tags, guiding same-day airborne hunts, and guiding while his license was permanently revoked, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska.

Hicks’ attorney did not have any additional comments for McClatchy News.

Hicks pleaded guilty in 2021 to violating the Lacey Act. According to the document, Hicks sold and conducted a guided hunt on federally managed land in 2018. A hunter paid $15,000 for the hunt, and $13,460 of that went to Hicks directly, the agreement said.

The hunt, near Max Lake, Alaska, was in violation of state law because Hicks “knowingly allowed” the hunter to take a Dall sheep when he was not present and because the hunt took place on federal land without authorization, the document said.

He was sentenced to six months in prison and three years of supervised release. Additionally, Hicks was “ordered to forfeit his interest in a Piper Super Cub and to pay $13,460 in restitution for the illegally sold Dall sheep hunt,” according to the news release.

At sentencing, the court discovered that Hicks also committed other wildlife hunting crimes, the release said. For example, in two instances, Hicks was accused of allowing hunters to illegally take two moose in 2018-19 in violation of Alaska law, Hicks’ indictment said.

To determine Hicks’ sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason “focused on the lack of investigative resources for wildlife protection, the fact that Hicks profited from his crimes and the trust placed in big game guides by the State of Alaska,” the news release said.

“Alaska’s wildlife is the envy of the world,” U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker said in the release. “Unwavering wildlife law enforcement is critical to the health and well-being of the state’s wildlife populations, which are an irreplaceable part of Alaska’s natural heritage.”

This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Guide led illegal big game hunts in Alaska, feds say. Now he’s prison bound."