Minnesota poaching suspect charged with killing neighbor’s dog

A northern Minnesota man is facing two felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly shooting his neighbor’s dog while the German shepherd was in an outdoor kennel. The charges stem from evidence discovered when the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources investigated poaching allegations against the man, identified as 26-year-old Brandon Mutchler.

The state agency began investigating Mutchler’s suspicious activities on Nov. 1 when wildlife officer Demo Regas stopped two men wearing bright orange clothing in Beltrami County, Minnesota, the Star TribuneThe two hunters were Brandon Mutchler and his father, Thomas Mutchler.

Regas remembered a Hand in poachers hotline tipped off that Brandon Mutchler may have shot more than his limit of deer the previous season. According to the Star TribuneDNR records showed that Mutchler had sent two sets of antlers to two different taxidermists. Beltrami County has a one dollar limit.

When questioned, Brandon Regas initially said he hadn’t killed a single deer during the 2022 season. When Mutchler was confronted with the DNR records, he told the agent he had shot one buck that he hadn’t checked out. He claimed his girlfriend had killed the other buck. However, his girlfriend told Regas that the second buck Brandon had dropped off at the taxidermist was a roadkill.

A hunter poses with his German Shepherd that was killed by a neighbor.
Sysco in the field. (The hunter in the photo is not Brandon Mutchler.)

Photo by Jessica Juelson / Facebook

When police executed a search warrant at the Mutchlers’ home, officers discovered a freezer full of venison from multiple deer and a freezer bag of bear claws. They also discovered a journal that detailed Brandon’s efforts to bait bears without a permit during the 2022 season. The notebook also indicated that he had illegally shot a 1 1/2-year-old doe.

“I get it,” Brandon told officers, according to the Star Tribune“I shoot too many deer, and I don’t register them.”

In separate interviews, Thomas and Brandon both admitted that their family has been attracting bears onto their property for years. Lure bears is not illegal in Minnesota. However, anyone who fails to register a bait station or sets one up without a valid bear permit is committing a petty misdemeanor.

Officers also executed a search warrant on Brandon’s cellphone, where they found hundreds of photos of him, his father and his brothers with deer over the limit from the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons. The phone also had photos of bears shot in 2021 and 2022 and a wolf killed in 2023. Minnesota does not have a public hunting season for wolves because they have been a federally protected species since February 2022. Brandon’s brother, Matthew, is charged with killing the wolf.

Brandon Mutchler, his father Thomas, and his two brothers, Matthew and Nicholas, are accused of failing to register deer during the 2021-2022 hunting season. He is also charged with excessive deer killing, failure to register deer and bears, and illegally transporting bears. The charges allege he shot a total of four deer in 2023 (one doe and three bucks) and five deer in 2022 (one doe and four bucks).

Searching Brandon’s phone revealed his search history, which included searches such as: “How far do police go in investigating pet murders?”, “Minnesota law about killing someone’s dog,” “Can police get fingerprints from a fired .22 shell casing?” and “Is shooting a dog a crime.”

In August, a Beltrami County sheriff’s deputy received a report of a dog shot in its kennel, according to KSTP NewsThe German shepherd named Sysco was owned by Daniel and Jessica Juelson, who discovered six .22-caliber shell casings outside the dog’s kennel, which was just 50 feet from their home, according to a Facebook post by Jessica.

Brandon Mutchler was initially a subject in Sysco’s shooting because of his proximity to the Juelsons’ home. During questioning, Mutchler denied shooting the dog.

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However, in light of the new evidence found on Brandon’s phone, he has also been charged with animal cruelty and animal abuse, in addition to the poaching charges. Minnesota StatuteThe penalty for intentionally killing a domestic animal is a fine of up to $5,000, up to two years in prison, or both. Failure to register a deer in Minnesota is a minor offense that carries a $50 fine. Failure to register a bear is a serious offense. In Minnesota, a gross violation can result in a fine of up to $3,000 and up to one year in prison.

Alice Jones Webb