Erin Rodrigue was arrested on federal firearms violations after appearing in the Mineral County Courthouse for hunting violations.

Officials surprise convicted poacher with arrest for alleged firearms violations

A Louisiana man's appearance in court Wednesday was followed by an unpleasant surprise. Erin Rodrigue, 38, was arrested on federal charges of criminal possession of a weapon after his appearance in district court.

Rodrigue was in court to prove he had finally paid a $16,000 fine for hunting violations. Rodrigue's wife paid the fines for him and his prison sentence was suspended. Judge Douglas Harkin also stipulated that Rodrigue was no longer allowed to hunt or accompany others on hunting trips.

After Rodrigue left the courtroom, authorities arrested him on criminal weapons possession charges that Rodrigue did not know he was facing.

“This has been a long time coming,” said Mineral County Sheriff Hugh Hopwood.

Rodrigue was picked up by federal authorities and transported to Missoula Wednesday afternoon.

Hopwood said that while they could have arrested Rodrigue on these charges a long time ago, they waited for him to appear in court to arrest him to avoid having to extradite him from Louisiana.

“We played this card pretty close to the vest,” Hopwood said. The sheriff said Rodrigue had a violent criminal history that included armed robbery among other convictions. He said that federal authorities found out about Rodrigue's weapons possession because of his hunting violations arrest.

“With someone that's just this flagrant about violating the law, you never know what they're going to do,” Hopwood said. Due to his prior criminal record, Rodrigue was not supposed to be in possession of any firearms, he added.

“We're not just talking a hunting rifle or a pistol,” Hopwood said. “We're talking approximately 16 or 17 weapons or firearms, as well as reloading equipment.”

Hopwood said that Rodrigue made his wife buy the weapons for him to get around the required background checks. Since she cooperated with authorities, Rodrigue's wife is not being charged for purchasing the weapons, Hopwood said.

“He's been getting away with things for years and it finally caught up to him,” Hopwood said.

Hopwood said that if convicted, Rodrigue faces up to five years in federal prison, with little likelihood of parole.

In January 2007, Rodrigue was arrested on 21 different hunting charges while living near St. Regis. He was charged with unlawfully possessing six or more white-tailed deer, hunting during a closed season, hunting with artificial light, using bait while hunting, over the limit of killing deer, waste of game, and failure to tag a game animal.

Rodrigue had 10 untagged deer hanging in a horse trailer at his residence on Dec. 18, 2006, according to a report by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Sgt. Joe Jaquith. The report said Rodrigue removed six of these deer and placed them in a culvert on 7 Mile Road. When he was arrested, Rodrigue had the head and antlers of three white-tailed deer, the head and antlers of two elk and the meat of a cow elk.

“This is the kind of guy that gives hunters a bad name,” Hopwood said.

Rodrigue had a plea agreement that required him to pay the $16,000 in fines once he sold his property on Tamarack Creek. However, when he appeared in court at the end of October, Rodrigue did not have the money to pay his fines, despite having sold his house.

Mineral County Attorney M. Shaun Donovan told Harkin he had documentation that Rodrigue received $40,000 for the sale of his property. Donovan added that there was documentation that Rodrigue had transferred all of these funds to his wife, who then transferred $32,000 back to him.

“The bottom line here is where is the $16,000?” Harkin asked.

Michael Bailey, Rodrigue's attorney, said he did not want the court to believe that Rodrigue had done something fraudulent and that Rodrigue was capable of paying the fines in short order.

“I want the money and I want it now. You had a way to get it and it was a good way to get it, but it slipped out of your hands,” Harkin said.

Harkin sentenced Rodrigue to spend 14 days in the Mineral County Jail immediately after the hearing.

“He can get started on his jail time now and maybe he can think about where the money went,” Harkin said.