Stephen Anderson Sipes Jr., Illegal Deer Transport, Tyler TX, 2023

TYLER, Texas – A 57-year-old Shreveport, LA, man, Stephen Anderson Sipes Jr., has been sentenced to pay over $14,000.00 in restitution and serve 48 hours of community service as conditions of a two year probated sentence for federal wildlife violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Sipes, 57, pleaded guilty on June 10, 2013, to negligent transportation of wildlife and was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. The court heard that Sipes had an ownership interest in a high-fence ranch in Sanderson, Texas, where he transported and possessed 14 live, illegally imported whitetail deer from Carthage, Missouri, on January 14, 2010.

According to information presented in court, the deer were valued at over $350.00 each, totaling approximately $5,650.00. Sipes must pay $14,016.49 in restitution to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to cover costs incurred in protecting native deer from diseases carried by the Missouri whitetails.

This case was investigated by the Special Operations Unit of the Texas Parks and Wildlife and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble handling the prosecution.

Sipes’ actions were strictly prohibited by Texas law, highlighting the ongoing battle against illegal wildlife trade and poaching in the state.

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