A summons to appear in court has been issued to a Linton man after he allegedly failed to retrieve a killed wild turkey and exceeded the bag limit for wild turkey. 

Kent F. “Opie” Wall, 61, has been summoned to appear in Greene Superior Court on July 27 on charges of failure to retrieve crippled or killed deer or wild turkey and exceeding bag limit for wild turkey following an incident on April 26. 

Indiana Conservation Officer Cole Hollingsworth was contacted by dispatch regarding a male – later identified as Wall – who had harvested two turkeys. According to the state’s online point-of-sale system, Wall had only checked in one turkey. 

Hollingsworth spoke with the caller who reported he and another witness saw Wall shoot a wild turkey approximately 100 yards from their location at around 7:20 a.m. that morning. He alleged he saw Wall pick up the dead turkey from the green pasture. At approximately 7:50 a.m., according to the probable cause affidavit, the caller said he heard a second shot and began videotaping Wall, who was walking away with another turkey. While the caller, or Witness One, was confronting Wall, the second witness located the first turkey Wall shot earlier that morning – a juvenile turkey commonly referred to as a jake. 

Hollingsworth and Probationary Indiana Conservation Officer Caden Graber arrived on the scene at 8:41 a.m. and were joined at approximately 9:38 a.m. by Indiana Conservation Officer Greg Swanson, Indiana Conservation Officer Dustin Cary, and K9 Finn. Witness One took the officers to the approximate location where the first turkey was shot. There, according to the probable cause affidavit, officers located feathers and fresh blood. 

ICO Cary deployed K9 Finn and began tracking for human scent. Approximately five feet from the fence row, Probationary ICO Graber located freshly shot Federal Premium 12-guage 3-and-one-half-inch magnum shells, which were red in color. They were photographed and collected as evidence. Approximately 30 yards from where the shotgun shells were located, more feathers and fresh blood were found. The feathers and blood were photographed and packaged as evidence. According to the probable cause affidavit, Hollingsworth wrote it was apparent this was where Wall shot and killed the second turkey which officers believed was still in his possession. ICO Cary and K9 Finn continued to track south in the woods towards Wall's residence for approximately 450 yards before K9 Finn was unable to track any further. 

According to the probable cause affidavit, ICO Swanson began following the blood trail from the location where the second wild turkey was shot. He was able to find drops of blood along the same track that ICO Cary and K9 Finn were following. ICO Swanson located a cellular trail camera that was on the same trail lCO Cary, and K9 Finn were following. This trail camera believed to belong to Wall, was seized for evidence as, according to the probable cause affidavit, it was believed that Wall would have been photographed on the camera if it was properly functioning. 

A search warrant was applied for and granted for Wall’s residence. At 4:30 p.m., officers Hollingsworth, Graber, Cary, and Swanson carried out that search warrant. When Hollingsworth informed Wall they were there to talk about his hunting earlier that morning, Wall alleged he had already checked in his turkey and provided Hollingsworth with a confirmation number. Wall told the officer he had already cleaned the animal and disposed of the body in the city trash truck which was headed to the landfill. The breast meat from the animal, Wall alleged, was either in his freezer or the kitchen sink. 

Located in Wall’s garage gun room was a 12-guage shot gun, according to the probable cause affidavit. The shotgun was loaded with one Federal Premium 12-gauge three-and-one-half-inch magnum shot shell, red in color. There was also a matching shot shell in the tubular magazine. Also in the room were camouflage hunting clothes with fresh blood. On the floor, Hollingsworth wrote, was a camouflage ghillie suit that matched the one seen in Witness One’s recording of Wall carrying the male turkey.

According to the probable cause affidavit, Hollingsworth pulled Wall aside and gave him an opportunity to tell the truth, Wall allegedly informed the officer he wasn’t going to tell him he’d done it. Hollingsworth informed Wall he would call the prosecutor to suggest an amendment to the search warrant to include the blood on Wall’s hunting pants to match the blood of the juvenile turkey. Hollingsworth then placed a call to the prosecutor. 

A short time later, according to the probable cause, Wall said, “I’ll tell you what I’m going to do for you guys. I’m going to eat crow. I shot it.” He then proceeded to give the details of the event. He allegedly admitted his intention was the carry two turkeys out of the woods that day but was interrupted by the witnesses. 

When Wall appears in Greene Superior Court on July 27, he will be charged with failure to retrieve crippled or killed deer or wild turkey, a Class B Misdemeanor and exceeding bag limit for wild turkey, a class B Misdemeanor.