Published - January, 12, 2006
FredieCarmichael@PensacolaNewsJournal.com
The pastor of one of the largest churches in Pensacola will lose his
hunting license and will have to pay $1,421 in fines for violating
Wisconsin hunting laws.
The Rev. Gordon Godfrey of Marcus Pointe Baptist Church pleaded no
contest on Wednesday to seven charges of various hunting law violations
— the state of Wisconsin dropped two of the charges.
Godfey did not travel to Wisconsin and instead pled through his
attorney by telephone, said Tom Novak, a courts public relations officer
in Wisconsin.
The seven charges he pleaded no contest to included:
-- Hunting turkey with an invalid permit.
-- Two counts of hunting without a license.
-- Two counts of possessing or transporting untagged turkey.
-- Hunting game birds during closed season.
-- Hunting turkey without valid permit.
Escambia County Sheriff Ron McNesby and Escambia County Commissioner
Mike Whitehead also among the 18 residents in the two-county area who
were charged in November for hunting trips in Wisconsin.
McNesby and Whitehead are expected to make their initial appearance
on Jan. 25.
A two-year investigation by federal and state agents focused on the
owner of an outfitter accused of providing illegal white-tailed deer and
wild turkey hunting trips in the southwest part of the state between
November 2002 and last May.
Adam Lee Lawinger, 27, principal owner and guide for Blue River
Outfitters in Richland County Wis., was charged in federal court with
allowing hunters to kill deer and turkeys without licenses and allowing
clients to bait deer inside the chronic wasting disease control area, to
shine and shoot deer at night and to kill turkeys with a .22-caliber
rifle.
