Kosciusko County Prosecutors Office has filed charges against a Warsaw Police Department officer for illegally hunting deer. Ryan Moore, a patrolman with the Warsaw Police Department, was issued a summons for a Dec. 4 hearing, on Oct. 19 to face charges of hunting deer with the aid of bait, a Class C misdemeanor. According to the incident form filed by Indiana Conservation Officer Jon Cook, prior to the archery season, on Sept. 25, Cook met with Mike Hawkins and his son, Eric, at a property at CR 1400N, between CRs 150E and 250E, owned by Paul Sands. The Hawkins took the officer to a part of the property where a tree stand was adjacent to the property and there was a mineral block and grain on the ground near the stand. Cook additionally found a game camera and checked the SD card, which showed that Ryan Moore was the owner of the card. Cook then searched the rest of the property for other sites similar to the one he had just found. On the southeast portion of an adjacent property, Cook found another stand, with a partially dissolved salt block and grain remnants. Additionally, he found another game camera. On Sept. 30, Cook was informed that the mineral block was no longer at the site where he had seen it last. On Oct. 1, Cook was informed by Indiana Conservation Officer Nathan Hooley that there was fresh grain at the second site.Later that month on Oct. 11, Hooley and Cook went to the property and walked to the second site. At 8:15 a.m., they saw a person dressed in camouflage in the stand. The individual noticed them and quickly came down. Cook identified himself, and when the individual removed his mask Cook realized that it was Ryan Moore, a WPD officer. Cook noticed that the mineral block and corn had been removed and that there was a gray and white granular material near the stand. Moore identified the unknown substance as a common deer bait. Moore then told the officers that he had put the bait out on Oct. 1 and thought that it would have been gone by that time. When asked why he did not move his stand after he noticed it was still at the site, Moore said he wouldn’t see any deer. Moore mentioned that he knew what he did was wrong and was very nervous. Cook noted that Moore was concerned about his position as a law enforcement officer and baseball coach. Additionally, he “continuously spoke about the consequences he was going to face from his family and employers,” Cook wrote. “He was very stressed about what was going to happen and asked multiple times if we could talk about this.” Moore took complete responsibility for his actions and said that the other stand would have the same bait at its site. Moore then told the officers that one of his friends was in the other stand and was unaware of the bait. He also asked that they not involve his friend. The hearing for Moore has been set for Dec. 4 at 1 p.m. Moore has not been arrested for the incident, instead the prosecutor issued a summons, not a warrant. Moore has not been suspended by WPD and continues to serve as a patrol officer.
