A federal judge banned two Central Illinois men from hunting worldwide after they admitted to breaking federal hunting laws in separate cases.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm banned former cable TV host Christopher Brackett, 41, of East Peoria from hunting or possessing guns during his 30 months probation sentence for unlawful transportation of wildlife, in violation of the federal Lacey Act.
On his "Fear No Evil" show on the Outdoor Channel in 2013, Brackett killed two bucks within moments of each other in Indiana, despite an Indiana rule allowing only one buck kill per season. He featured the kill of the 11-point "Unicorn Buck" on his show in 2014. He took that buck back to his house in Illinois.
Brackett also pleaded guilty to telling his cameraman and producer to hide evidence of the first buck he killed and told an employee to destroy an eight-point rack.
In a separate case, U.S. District Court Judge James Shadid sentenced Rick Hamm, 58, of Chillicothe to 24 monts of probation. He's banned from hunting and guiding worldwide during his probation.
Hamm owns a waterfowl outfitting service. He pleaded guilty to illegally using an electronic caller to lure geese in during a hunt in Fulton County in 2015. He was sentenced for unlawful sale of wildlife in violation of the Lacey Act.
Hamm was previously fined in 2000 for another waterfowl violation.
Hamm co-defendants Trent Gustafson, Zachary Entwistle, James Schupp, and J. Weston Schupp each received six months of probation and an accompanying waterfowl hunting ban.
All were also fined.
