The Oklahoma State Game Warden Association

Please Don't Tell My Wife
By SGW Doug Gottschalk

A weekend prior, Doug Gottschalk, Game Warden assigned to Noble County, had caught a spotlighter. This was the evening after the end of the 2001 Muzzleloader Season and he was back in the same area looking for a late hunter. Sure enough, About 10:15 PM a vehicle came slowly down the country road and turned into a wheat field, the one Doug was parked in. The driver swept the field with the headlights, then moved down the road, a spotlight was intermittently shined out of the driver's window.

Doug moved into position and activated his emergency lights and the vehicle stopped. In the Jeep, he found a male driver and a female passenger. Doug attempted to secure the scene and asked the driver if there were any weapons in the vehicle. "yes" was the reply from the driver but he wasn't sure if the pistol was loaded. He looked for the pistol but instead found a deer in the back of the Jeep with a loaded AR15 rifle. A .30-06 rifle and a spotlight were found in the passenger compartment. Not seeing any pistol, Doug asked the driver where it was and he replied that it was in the center console. Although he wanted to assist in retrieving it, Doug managed to look for himself and behold, there was a loaded pistol, lying right beside a baggie containing a green leafy substance and what appeared to be two marijuana cigarettes. After calling another officer for assistance and arresting the occupants of the Jeep, Doug began an inventory of the vehicle. In the dash area was a black pouch with what appeared to be more marijuana cigarettes and a small pipe. Included in it were the passenger's driver's license, two pink pills, and a foil packet all neatly kept in an ODWC issued license carrier!

The occupants of the Jeep were more than cooperative. Even though they paid out over $2500 in fines and costs and forfeited two rifles and pistol, they were more concerned with the prospects of the driver's wife finding out not only what he had been doing but also that he was doing it with his girlfriend!




	Back to the Magazine Index Please Don't Tell My Wife By SGW Doug Gottschalk A weekend prior, Doug Gottschalk, Game Warden assigned to Noble County, had caught a spotlighter. This was the evening after the end of the 2001 Muzzleloader Season and he was back in the same area looking for a late hunter. Sure enough, About 10:15 PM a vehicle came slowly down the country road and turned into a wheat field, the one Doug was parked in. The driver swept the field with the headlights, then moved down the road, a spotlight was intermittently shined out of the driver's window. Doug moved into position and activated his emergency lights and the vehicle stopped. In the Jeep, he found a male driver and a female passenger. Doug attempted to secure the scene and asked the driver if there were any weapons in the vehicle. "yes" was the reply from the driver but he wasn't sure if the pistol was loaded. He looked for the pistol but instead found a deer in the back of the Jeep with a loaded AR15 rifle. A .30-06 rifle and a spotlight were found in the passenger compartment. Not seeing any pistol, Doug asked the driver where it was and he replied that it was in the center console. Although he wanted to assist in retrieving it, Doug managed to look for himself and behold, there was a loaded pistol, lying right beside a baggie containing a green leafy substance and what appeared to be two marijuana cigarettes. After calling another officer for assistance and arresting the occupants of the Jeep, Doug began an inventory of the vehicle. In the dash area was a black pouch with what appeared to be more marijuana cigarettes and a small pipe. Included in it were the passenger's driver's license, two pink pills, and a foil packet all neatly kept in an ODWC issued license carrier! The occupants of the Jeep were more than cooperative. Even though they paid out over $2500 in fines and costs and forfeited two rifles and pistol, they were more concerned with the prospects of the driver's wife finding out not only what he had been doing but also that he was doing it with his girlfriend! Back to the Magazine Index
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