CHEBOYGAN -- A Michigan State Police trooper who illegally "shined" and shot a 10-point buck while on duty in a state patrol vehicle tried to enter the ill-gotten deer's antlers in a troopers' big-buck contest.
Troopers and patrol partners Jeffrey Hadley, 45, and Donald Bolen, 41, both of Cheboygan, illegally killed a buck sometime after midnight on Nov. 13 -- two days before the firearms deer season -- along Mograin Road in Cheboygan County's Benton Township.
The poaching incident kick-started the troopers' clumsy, six-week attempt to cover their tracks, though Hadley spent part of that time boasting of his monster buck and attempted to enter its rack in a contest.
Tips led authorities to charge Hadley and Bolen with violating state game laws and both pleaded guilty, were fined, and served short jail sentences that ended this month.
They've temporarily been transferred to road patrol in the Upper Peninsula, pending the outcome of an internal investigation, said Capt. Tim Rod, who commands the state police 7th District, including the Cheboygan post.
"It's a disappointing experience, obviously, for them personally, and for us as an agency. We have high expectations and we expect our people to uphold those standards and act appropriately," Rod said.
Hadley and Bolen face discipline ranging from written reprimands to termination, he said.
"It's a mark against all of us and we're professionally responding to it," Rod said.
Bolen drove a state police Tahoe patrol vehicle and Hadley propped a rifle on the passenger door and shot the buck as it stood under an apple tree early Nov. 13, according to state Department of Natural Resources documents obtained by the Record-Eagle under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
DNR documents show the troopers left the buck on the private property where Hadley dropped it with a single shot. They then drove to Bolen's house to retrieve a saw and returned to the shooting scene an hour later to discover that coyotes had devoured part of the deer's hindquarters.
The troopers -- while still on-duty -- dragged the animal's carcass to the patrol vehicle and loaded it in the back. They drove to a railroad grade, removed the head and antlers, then threw the rest of the animal, including all usable meat, off the railroad grade and into a ditch, they admitted to DNR investigators.
Other troopers at the Cheboygan post discovered blood and deer hair in the Tahoe, prompting Hadley to claim falsely that they'd come across a road-kill deer and transported it to a needy family.
Two anonymous tips to the state -- one to the Report All Poaching hotline and another through the Internet -- attracted DNR investigators' attention. Questions also popped up among Hadley's fellow state police officers at the Cheboygan post when he attempted to enter the deer's massive rack in a troopers' big-buck contest, records show.
The 10-point rack was disqualified from the contest because it didn't have a valid hunting tag attached. Hadley purchased a firearms deer license later in the day on Nov. 13, but did not tag the illegally killed deer, according to investigative reports. He instead wanted to use the tag to kill another deer, records show.
Hadley and Bolen disposed of the antlers along Interstate 75 while on patrol together on Dec. 23, after the investigation into their then-alleged crime was under way.
Hadley and Bolen pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor conspiracy, poaching and trespass offenses, and were sentenced to four and two days in jail, respectively. Each must pay $9,711 in fines, 89th District Court records show.
Neither Hadley's attorney, Joe Kwiatkowski, of Cheboygan, nor Bolen's attorney, Michael Hackett, of Mount Pleasant, could be reached for comment.
Both Hadley and Bolen served their time and were released, said Cheboygan County Sheriff Dale Clarmont.
"I believe this was a black mark on the law enforcement profession and I believe justice has been served," Clarmont said.
Confession details
Michigan Department of Natural Resources investigators questioned state police troopers Jeffrey Hadley and Donald Bolen separately at their respective homes on Dec. 27 about their potential involvement in a deer-poaching case.
Hadley and Bolen both initially said their union advised them not to discuss the matter. But DNR investigators pushed them to be honest and reminded the troopers how they might be perceived in public if they refused to answer questions.
Bolen eventually told investigators "he did not want to lie" and "had to do the right thing." He then spilled details of the poaching incident, DNR documents show.
But Hadley initially told DNR investigators that troubles at the Cheboygan MSP post may have led someone to be "out to mess with him." Investigators replied that they already knew the deer was shot out-of-season, while he was on-duty, and at night. Hadley responded, "I really don't think you have that much," records show.
Investigators asked if they could see the antlers Hadley attempted to enter in a Cheboygan state police post big-buck contest, but Hadley said he "got rid of them." DNR investigators weren't buying any of it. A rational person wouldn't dispose of legally taken trophy antlers, they said, and again encouraged Hadley to be honest.
Hadley then confessed, saying, "Yeah, I shot the deer while on-duty," according to investigative reports.
Source: Investigative reports from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, obtained under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.
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