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Colorado town furious over elk poaching

ESTES PARK, Colo., Nov. 14 -- Wildlife officials Tuesday considered charges against a man accused of killing a bull elk with a crossbow and leaving many residents outraged at the loss of a beloved animal. 'Sampson,' at nearly 1,000 pounds and possibly the largest elk in Colorado, had freely roamed the grounds of a YMCA camp about a mile outside of town.

But a single arrow from a crossbow shot through his heart and lungs Saturday evening. The suspected poacher abandoned the elk, his truck and the crossbow, and hitchhiked 65 miles to his home in Lakewood, then called police to report he had 'made a mistake,' said Colorado Division of Wildlife officer Rick Spowart. Abandoning big game is a felony, which is one of the charges the unidentified suspect faces. The man was not licensed to hunt and didn't have permission to be on the YMCA grounds. Townspeople were furious about Sampson's death, and some of them have told wildlife officials they want authorities to 'throw the book at him,' Spowart said. 'There's been a couple of death threats against the guy,' he said. 'I'm sure it's going to affect his personal life. I told him (Monday) that he picked absolutely the worst elk in Estes Park to kill.' Wildlife officers who interviewed the man had not made a decision on what to charge him with and were trying to determine whether he may have been involved in other poaching of trophy game. Spowart said the Larimer County district attorney's office is reviewing the case for possible criminal charges. Dave Thomas, communications director for the YMCA camp where the elk was killed, called the poacher a 'scumbag' and said the killing has outraged the community. Citizens planned a meeting later in the week to demand tougher penalties for poachers.

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