CPW Officer Deme Wright
Fort Carson, Colorado, became the unlikely backdrop for a wildlife crime when three active-duty Army soldiers were convicted of multiple misdemeanor violations for poaching mule deer on tightly controlled military lands and neighboring state territory. The investigation, led by Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Deme Wright, uncovered a pattern of deliberate illegal hunting that resulted in the illegal killing of six mule deer, hefty fines totaling over $28,000, and potential lifetime hunting bans.
The case kicked off on a snowy November day back in 2024, when a lawful hunter reported a suspicious scene in a training area on Fort Carson, a sprawling Army installation south of Colorado Springs. Officer Wright, responding alongside Fort Carson's Conservation Law Enforcement Officers, arrived to find a mule deer buck with its antlers crudely sawed off and a hindquarter removed, while the rest of the carcass was abandoned.
"It didn’t look like a normal harvest," Wright recalled. "That’s when you slow everything down."
Suddenly finding herself treating the site like a crime scene, Wright conducted a field necropsy, recovering a bullet from the buck's entry wound. As investigators continued to scour the area, their search soon revealed a second doe just 100 yards away, similarly mutilated with choice cuts taken and the remainder left to rot.
"To me, the second crime scene confirmed it," Wright said. "This wasn’t accidental; this was a deliberate poacher."
Human boot tracks in the fresh snow connected the two kills, leading investigators over a fence and to a nearby road, where they faded into tire marks near a wildland firefighter station.
Looking for additional tips and information, officers entered the station hoping that someone inside could provide a bit more clarity. Once inside, interviews with staff soon turned into a game-changing piece of evidence that included a photograph of a vehicle parked unusually for about 48 hours. That discovery changed everything in an instant, as officers were able to trace the vehicle back to Sgt. Jacob Curtis Keyser, a 21-year-old active-duty soldier. Wright's review of Keyser's public social media uncovered photos of deer heads matching the poached buck, prompting search warrants for his person, vehicle, and cellphone.
As is usually the case, the cellphone data was damning, depicting images, videos, and messages with metadata pinpointing times, dates, and locations of the poaching activities. Keyser initially remained silent during questioning but later requested a follow-up interview, where he confessed to illegally harvesting six mule deer and trespassing on restricted lands. During his confession, he also implicated Staff Sgt. Juan Salcedo as a hunting accomplice and a third unnamed soldier who assisted in disposing of a cooler full of poached venison. Keyser voluntarily surrendered his hunting rifle, which was forfeited as part of the penalties.
Five of the deer were killed on Fort Carson property, with one on adjacent state land, highlighting some of the challenges of enforcing wildlife laws on military installations where access is tightly controlled and surveillance options like trail cameras are limited.
Earlier this month, the soldiers were convicted in El Paso County Court. Keyser faced 30 misdemeanor charges, resulting in a $19,005 fine, 180 suspension points on his hunting privileges, and the forfeiture and destruction of his rifle. Salcedo was hit with 15 charges, a $8,817 fine, and 65 suspension points. The third soldier received a $900 fine for his role in disposing of the meat.
An upcoming CPW hearing will determine the length of any hunting and fishing license suspensions, which could extend to a lifetime ban under the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, affecting privileges in all 50 states. No jail time was imposed, with penalties focusing on financial restitution and loss of hunting rights.
This case obviously marks a significant achievement for Wright, who joined CPW in 2021 after earning a biology degree from Colorado Mesa University. Her background includes seasonal work in aquatics and terrestrial research, followed by rigorous training at police and CPW academies. The investigation went a long way in demonstrating her commitment to protecting Colorado’s wildlife, something she says she’ll always go the distance for.
“You realize how fragile evidence is,” she said. “You get one chance to do it right. I care about wildlife, I care about the science behind what we do, and I have great respect for our law-abiding, ethical hunters. If you poach in Colorado, I’ll follow the evidence, I’ll find you, and I’ll cut your rifle into scrap metal.”
