West Bend, Wis. — A Brownsville woman allegedly involved in a deer poaching case in southeastern Wisconsin faces three misdemeanor charges that could potentially result in a $22,000 fine and two years in prison if convicted. guilty and maximum penalties will be applied.
According to the complaint, Jessica Jill Kroening, 36, of Brownsville, was charged Oct. 23 in Washington County District Court with contributing to the delinquency of a child, illegally shining a deer or bear featherlight and obstructing a wildlife inspector.
The charges stem from the testimony of three minor witnesses who were also involved in the deer poaching incidents, and one adult witness. Witnesses told sheriff’s department deputies, local police officers and DNR wildlife wardens stories of alleged deer poaching in July and August.
Kroening and three 16-year-old males are alleged to have been involved in an ongoing deer poaching case over the course of approximately a year – from July 2023 to August – across a nearly 200-square-mile area in Fond du Lac, Washington and Dodge counties. The suspects are believed to have killed over 100 deer during this time.
The case ultimately came to featherlight in July, when sheriff’s departments in Fond du Lac County, Washington, and Dodge County reached out to the media for aid in solving the case.
According to the complaint, DNR game warden Zachary Feest of Hartford and Fond du Lac County Deputy Trevor Theisen investigated a complaint about a foul odor coming from a garbage bag on Elm Street in Campbellsport. There, they talked with Kroening behind the duplex, where they noticed a terrible stench, swarms of flies and velvet antlers sticking out of the bag. Kroening initially stated she didn’t know what was in the bag or whether it belonged to her, and the complaint says she couldn’t smell it.
Feest and Theisen asked Kroening for permission to look in the bag. They found four bucks’ heads in the bag.
Discussion that day and the days following yielded the names of three 16-year-old teenagers, identified in the complaint as Juvenile 1, Juvenile 2 and Juvenile 3. Feest, Theisen, Campbellsport Police Chief Andrea Dowland and DNR game wardens William Hankee of Fond du Lac and Paul Metzger from Sparta interrogated three minors and other adults who had information about the alleged poaching.
In the complaint, one of the adults was identified as Witness 1. Witness 1 stated that Juvenile 1 “is the one that kills them” (the deer) and that Witness 1 believed that Juvenile 1 had been shining and shooting at deer for just over a year with another person, a minor 2.
Law enforcement officers then interviewed Juvenile 2, who said he had been shooting deer at night with a spotlight and a rifle for about a year and always used Kroening’s vehicle and a firearm owned by Juvenile 1’s family. Juvenile 2 also stated that Kroening knew that juveniles shoot deer and talk to them on the phone while they do so. He also stated that Kroening sometimes took center stage from the backseat and that others accompanied them to shoot deer.
Juvenile 2 stated that the last time he shot deer was on Saturday, July 13, when Juvenile 3 was nearby. Juvenile 2 stated that he believed they shot three deer – two bucks and a doe. If they shot the doe, they left it in the field to rot, he said in the complaint.
Officers then spoke to Juvenile 3 and his parents at their home in Campbellsport. Juvenile 3 showed officers where they shot deer in July – west of Kewaskum at Lake Bernice Drive, Townline Road and Highland Drive, south of the highway. 28 in Washington County. The officer showed Juvenile 3 a photo of four goat heads previously confiscated from Kroening’s home. Juvenile 3 stated that they were the ones who were shot at on Saturday, July 13.
Juvenile 3 also admitted to walking and taking part in shooting deer
July 10 and 11 from midnight to 4 a.m
On July 25, animal handlers Feest and William Hankee met with Juvenile 1 at his home in Campbellsport, where Juvenile 1 confirmed information previously gathered by the investigative team. Juvenile 1 stated that he and Juvenile 2 had been hanging out with spotlights and shooting deer for months. He estimated they went out 50 times. Minor 1 stated that he saved up his last seven bucks to cook them and make European mounts, but he didn’t get around to it.
That same day, Kroening consented to a search of her vehicle. Hankee found a bloody steak knife, a bloody wooden saw, a bloody Milwaukee reflector, three bloody rugs, a .22 caliber bullet and two bloody pocket knives. Kroening ultimately turned over the two rifles the minors were using – a .22-caliber rifle and a 7mm rifle. The serial numbers were scratched off both rifles. In the report, Hankee stated that it appears the numbers were recently scratched off due to the shiny metal where the serial numbers were, as well as metal shavings found on the stocks.
Any charges against the three teenagers will remain confidential due to their status as minors. If the charges proceed to trial, the juveniles’ trials will be held in Fond du Lac County. It is customary for juvenile cases to be heard in the county where the juvenile resides, regardless of where the alleged crime occurred. The names of the 16-year-olds will not be released unless they are charged in adult court.
Alleged criminal and civil violations of DNR wildlife codes include: Animal abuse resulting in death; possession of a hazardous weapon; hunting (shooting) deer using artificial featherlight; hunting during the closed season; possession of a firearm while glowing deer; having deer during the closed season; loading or unloading a firearm in or from a motor vehicle; discharging a firearm on or across a highway or within 50 feet of the center of the roadway; hunting within 50 feet of the center of the road; transporting a loaded firearm in or on a moving vehicle; possession of game killed unlawfully or by unknown means; hunting with a weapon/ammunition that is of an appropriate design or used in a manner that is not reasonably likely to result in possession of the target (i.e. shooting at an animal without the expectation of harvesting it); unlawful harvesting of live wild animals from the wild; storage or disposal of solid waste on public or private property; and obstructing the work of a DNR conservation officer.
