A Michigan hunter is serving two months in jail after pleading guilty to sabotaging another hunter’s tree stand, causing the victim to fall more than 15 feet.
Thomas Steele III, 23, of Chelsea, pleaded guilty in Marquette County Court to misdemeanors of aggravated assault and hunter harassment.
Steele was ordered to reimburse the victim’s medical expenses for injuries sustained in the fall, and his hunting privileges were revoked indefinitely throughout most of the U.S.
According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the harassment began in October 2020 when the hunter arrived at an Upper Peninsula tree stand he had set up and discovered a note on his trail camera.
The note stated that the spot belonged to Steele.
Steele included his phone number, requesting a call. The hunter called Steele and was warned to stay off the land.
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Hunters in Michigan cannot claim rights to public hunting land. Nor can they prevent other hunters for using abandoned tree stands and blinds.
The hunter stayed away for a few weeks, then returned to his tree stand, grabbed the memory card from his trail camera, and began to ascend the tree via climbing sticks.
Nothing seemed amiss, but when he stepped onto the platform it gave way and the hunter plummeted 15-plus feet, injuring his back and ankle.
“Concerned that Steele was watching him on a camera, the hunter quickly limped out of the woods,” the Michigan DNR stated in a news release issued Friday. “Once at home, he called 911 and checked his memory card, which had been wiped clean of images.”
An investigation was launched by DNR Conservation Officer Josh Boudreaux.
Several weeks passed before the hunter again returned to the spot, bringing new straps for his tree stand.
Steel was spying on the hunter with his trail camera, the Michigan DNR explained, and the next day Steele sent threatening text messages.
Boudreaux and Officer John Kamps, meanwhile, kept an eye on the stand. They acquired photographic evidence showing Steele sabotaging the hunter’s tree-stand straps.
“The straps were cut in such a way that they would support the weight of the tree stand but would break as soon as additional weight was applied to them, having a trap door effect,” Boudreaux explained. “The victim would have fallen 15 to 20 feet to the ground.”
Afterward, Boudreaux obtained a search warrant for Steele’s trail camera and arranged a meeting with Steele, whereupon Steele confessed to sabotaging the tree stand and other charges.
Steele was charged in 2021.
Said Dave Shaw, chief of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division: “Hunter harassment is real and taken very seriously. The DNR hopes that by sharing the details of this case, we can bring awareness to the consequences of this person’s unethical and dangerous behavior and know that it will not be tolerated.”
