Judge sentences Fresno poacher to six months house arrest, $8,000 fine

A Fresno resident has been sentenced to 180 days in jail and was fined $8,000 for hunting and poaching-related crimes, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced this week.

Hue Xiong, 31, was sentenced for crimes including hunter trespass, taking deer and wild turkeys out of season, failing to obtain wild pig tags before hunting, failing to affix tags to wild pigs after taking and driving on a suspended license.

In February of 2018, trail camera photographs captured Xiong hunting on private land near Parkfield in south Monterey County, prosecutors said.

The landowners recognized Xiong from previous contacts and reported the trespassing to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

During its investigation, the department determined Xiong killed at least seven wild pigs between February and May of 2018 without first obtaining hunting tags.

In July of 2018, Xiong was stopped by officers from the California Highway Patrol while driving on a suspended license and had a recently killed deer and two wild turkeys that were taken out of season, prosecutors said.

The animals were killed with a .22 rimfire rifle, which is an unethical method to take the animals, prosecutors said.

Xiong was also in possession of a wild pig that did not have a hunting tag affixed to the carcass.

In addition to the sentence and fine, Xiong was ordered not to hunt in Monterey County for three years.

Xiong is being allowed to serve his jail sentence through home confinement.

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