A 52-year-old Yakama Reservation resident has been sentenced to two weeks in jail for running an illegal black-market operation that trafficked up to 42 elk carcasses across Washington and Oregon, authorities said.
Braden F. Tahkeal was convicted in Kittitas County Superior Court on one felony count of first-degree unlawful wildlife trafficking following a multi-year investigation by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in tandem with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The case kicked off back in 2020 when wildlife officers received a tip that Tahkeal was poaching elk from orchards and fields near the Yakama Indian Reservation in Yakima County. According to reports, he then allegedly sold the carcasses through encrypted online chat groups targeting buyers in Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. With the black market commanding prices of upwards of $1,000 for a standard-sized elk, authorities said that larger bulls commanded significantly higher prices, prompting the accused to target animals.
In March 2021, undercover detectives arranged a sting operation on Facebook Marketplace in an attempt to catch Tahkeal in the act, arranging to purchase elk at a truck stop in Ellensburg. During the transaction, he sold them a skinned and headless elk carcass and showed photos on his phone of seven bull elk loaded into the bed of his pickup truck.
“Unregulated economic markets for game and non-game wildlife have lasting negative impacts,” said Brad Rhoden, captain of the WDFW police. “Traffickers target specific types of wildlife at times when they are most vulnerable.”
Following the investigation, officers charged Tahkeal and awaited trial. While the details remain scarce as to why the case took four years to end up in a sentencing hearing, the accused did finally end up in front of a judge in mid-October. There he was ordered to serve 14 days in jail, with the option of home confinement under sentencing guidelines. In addition to the incarceration, he was also ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution, which included $2,000 to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and $5,000 to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
As of right now, no appeals have been filed.
