Three men charged with killing deer, dumping them in the river
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A capias has been issued for the arrest of Corpus Christi residents Raymond “Ace” Walker, Garratt W. Harris and Paul Isaac Bueno for allegedly killing nine deer on the Walker Ranch and dumping the deer in the Nueces River.
“The three men could have been charged with 27 Class A misdemeanors (3 counts times nine deer), but we decided not to ‘throw the book at them’ because they confessed,” said Clay Pipkin, Live Oak County game warden.
Walker, Harris and Bueno were charged with waste of game and hunting at night, both Class A misdemeanors, for allegedly killing nine deer on the evening of July 17. “They shot nine and only took back straps from two of them; that is why they are being charged with waste of game,” said Carlos Riojas, Live Oak County game warden. “They just shot them and threw them in the river.”
“A man that was jet skiing on the Nueces River near the Swinney Switch area was heading upriver, rounded a curve and saw a dead deer,” said Pipkin. “He knew something was wrong and he kept on exploring and counted nine dead deer, so he contacted the sheriff’s office,” Pipkin continued.
“Clay and I were together when we got the call,” said Riojas. “We called the skier and he told us where to find the deer.” The game wardens searched the area by boat and the banks by foot. They found the nine deer but could not find where on the banks the deer had been thrown from. They searched for 8-9 hours until about 6:30 p.m.; they were going to go home for the day when they spotted a small space and a little trail. Riojas walked up the trail and he found a campfire. At the campfire were two burned back straps, a cottontail rabbit, and a bird (unknown species). “We think they tried to cook the back strap and other game but it looks like they were not sure what they were doing,” said Riojas.
“We started looking around and found a blood trail down to the bank and found tracks. It had rained the night they were there and that made it easy to find the tracks,” Riojas continued.
“While we were looking for evidence we heard a dozer and went up to the operator. It just happened to be one of the ranch owners. He was very nice and drove us around for an hour but didn’t give us any information on who could have killed the deer,” Pipkin said. “He gave us his brother’s phone number and we contacted his brother. It took a whole day to track him down and get him to return our calls. The next day he offered to meet us at that ranch,” Pipkin said.
“I started looking at the family portraits and started asking questions about the different family members. I have a feeling he knew we had an idea that his grandson was involved,” continued Pipkin. The man gave Pipkin his son’s phone number, who in turn gave Pipkin his own son’s phone number in the Corpus Christi area.
“I called the son (ranch owner’s grandson) identified as Raymond “Ace” Walker and asked him if he had been in Live Oak County,” Pipkin stated. Walker allegedly said, “Yes.”
Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he had been at his grandfather’s ranch and he (Walker) allegedly said yes. Next Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he knew why he was calling and he allegedly answered in the affirmative. “So we are calling about the deer,” Pipkin said. Walker allegedly continued by saying “Yes”.
Pipkin said he told Walker he was going to send someone down to meet with him in Calallen. “Carlos and I decided to go to Calallen to met Ace (Walker) rather than send someone but we contacted some game wardens from the area. When we arrived in Calallen, Ace (Walker) was not readily available. At first he didn’t answer our calls and then he told us he had to run some (auto) parts and we would have to wait another hour. Another suspect, later identified as Garratt Harris, told us he was at the beach and couldn’t meet us. But the other game wardens were familiar with the area and we soon found Harris and Walker.”
“They basically lied about their whereabouts and deliberately tried to stall us because they were trying to get rid of evidence,” alleged Riojas. “We caught them in the process of swapping out tires from one vehicle to another.”
Walker and Harris had allegedly tried to wash the bed of an ATV and trailer that the wardens believed had been used to move the dead deer to the river. However, the bed still contained blood and shell casings, said Pipkin. “They tried to hide the ATV in an old Penske-type truck. The ATV had blue paint that had evidently blown-up on it with the fire. We photographed the evidence and escorted them to the Game Warden Regional Office and they gave statements.”
In addition to full confessions, Walker and Harris allegedly gave the game wardens information about a rifle and a pistol they used, plus directions to the storage facility where another gun was hidden. A few days later, another man identified as Paul Isaac Bueno was questioned by local game wardens and charged. The three work at an automobile auction warehouse in the Corpus Christi area.
“The three men could have been charged with 27 Class A misdemeanors (3 counts times nine deer), but we decided not to ‘throw the book at them’ because they confessed,” said Clay Pipkin, Live Oak County game warden.
Walker, Harris and Bueno were charged with waste of game and hunting at night, both Class A misdemeanors, for allegedly killing nine deer on the evening of July 17. “They shot nine and only took back straps from two of them; that is why they are being charged with waste of game,” said Carlos Riojas, Live Oak County game warden. “They just shot them and threw them in the river.”
“A man that was jet skiing on the Nueces River near the Swinney Switch area was heading upriver, rounded a curve and saw a dead deer,” said Pipkin. “He knew something was wrong and he kept on exploring and counted nine dead deer, so he contacted the sheriff’s office,” Pipkin continued.
“Clay and I were together when we got the call,” said Riojas. “We called the skier and he told us where to find the deer.” The game wardens searched the area by boat and the banks by foot. They found the nine deer but could not find where on the banks the deer had been thrown from. They searched for 8-9 hours until about 6:30 p.m.; they were going to go home for the day when they spotted a small space and a little trail. Riojas walked up the trail and he found a campfire. At the campfire were two burned back straps, a cottontail rabbit, and a bird (unknown species). “We think they tried to cook the back strap and other game but it looks like they were not sure what they were doing,” said Riojas.
“We started looking around and found a blood trail down to the bank and found tracks. It had rained the night they were there and that made it easy to find the tracks,” Riojas continued.
“While we were looking for evidence we heard a dozer and went up to the operator. It just happened to be one of the ranch owners. He was very nice and drove us around for an hour but didn’t give us any information on who could have killed the deer,” Pipkin said. “He gave us his brother’s phone number and we contacted his brother. It took a whole day to track him down and get him to return our calls. The next day he offered to meet us at that ranch,” Pipkin said.
“I started looking at the family portraits and started asking questions about the different family members. I have a feeling he knew we had an idea that his grandson was involved,” continued Pipkin. The man gave Pipkin his son’s phone number, who in turn gave Pipkin his own son’s phone number in the Corpus Christi area.
“I called the son (ranch owner’s grandson) identified as Raymond “Ace” Walker and asked him if he had been in Live Oak County,” Pipkin stated. Walker allegedly said, “Yes.”
Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he had been at his grandfather’s ranch and he (Walker) allegedly said yes. Next Pipkin allegedly asked Walker if he knew why he was calling and he allegedly answered in the affirmative. “So we are calling about the deer,” Pipkin said. Walker allegedly continued by saying “Yes”.
Pipkin said he told Walker he was going to send someone down to meet with him in Calallen. “Carlos and I decided to go to Calallen to met Ace (Walker) rather than send someone but we contacted some game wardens from the area. When we arrived in Calallen, Ace (Walker) was not readily available. At first he didn’t answer our calls and then he told us he had to run some (auto) parts and we would have to wait another hour. Another suspect, later identified as Garratt Harris, told us he was at the beach and couldn’t meet us. But the other game wardens were familiar with the area and we soon found Harris and Walker.”
“They basically lied about their whereabouts and deliberately tried to stall us because they were trying to get rid of evidence,” alleged Riojas. “We caught them in the process of swapping out tires from one vehicle to another.”
Walker and Harris had allegedly tried to wash the bed of an ATV and trailer that the wardens believed had been used to move the dead deer to the river. However, the bed still contained blood and shell casings, said Pipkin. “They tried to hide the ATV in an old Penske-type truck. The ATV had blue paint that had evidently blown-up on it with the fire. We photographed the evidence and escorted them to the Game Warden Regional Office and they gave statements.”
In addition to full confessions, Walker and Harris allegedly gave the game wardens information about a rifle and a pistol they used, plus directions to the storage facility where another gun was hidden. A few days later, another man identified as Paul Isaac Bueno was questioned by local game wardens and charged. The three work at an automobile auction warehouse in the Corpus Christi area.
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