Former Broken Arrow man fined $11,356 for illegal sales of deer antlers (2024)

By KELLY BOSTIANWorld Outdoors Writer

In a case that spanned nearly five years, a former Broken Arrow man has reached a plea deal in Tulsa District Court for selling or attempting to sell 11 sets of deer antlers over the Internet.

Steven C. Thornton, 41, now of Lewisville, Texas, pleaded guilty Thursday to 11 misdemeanor counts of illegal antler sales and agreed to restitution, fines and court costs totaling $11,356, with a 30-month deferred sentence and supervised probation.

The Tulsa game warden who pursued the case said the attempted sale of fish and wildlife over the Internet in Oklahoma is a common problem.

Carlos Gomez, warden with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said Thornton’s case is a prime example of why it’s illegal to sell wildlife items in Oklahoma and why other states should have the same laws or toughen their existing laws.

Gomez talked about the value of the items in Thornton’s case Friday morning as he held two deer heads with 160-inch-plus racks of antlers that Thornton sold and shipped to undercover wildlife officers.

“Does this represent the memories of a father and son out hunting or a special time in the field, or is it just something that is a chance for somebody to make some money?” Gomez said. “It’s when people see the dollar signs that we go down that road of the old days and wildlife is endangered because it’s just a payday.”

Gomez said he was tipped to eBay ads posted by Thornton in May 2011. Online, Thornton offered for sale 11 trophy-class bucks of 160 inches or more, for $250 to $500 apiece.

The ads stated one of the sets of antlers was found and collected in Illinois, that others were from Oklahoma, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota and Kansas and were “intact, whole, attached to the skull, and from the wild and were hunted deer.”

Gomez said hunting license and permit records from the other states didn’t match up with Thornton’s advertising claims, but wherever the deer came from, it was not legal to sell them in Oklahoma.

“Where those other nine skulls came from or where they went, I have no idea,” he said.

Oklahoma wildlife law, Title 29, forbids the sale of white-tailed deer antlers when attached to the skull plate.

People trying to sell antlers, fish fillets or deer meat through advertisem*nts on Facebook or other social media is a common occurrence, he said. In December, an Oklahoma City woman was cited for attempting to sell deer meat through her Facebook page.

Gomez said he tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, and most often the people don’t realize it is illegal and take down the sales offer.

Sales of antlers are legal in some states, including in Kansas. Shed antlers can be sold, but not trophy antlers attached to the skull plate.

Thornton never contested his guilt, only the level of fines and penalties, Gomez said.

“When we first talked to him about it, me and some federal officers, he literally got down on his porch and cried and he apologized and said he knew he shouldn’t have done it,” Gomez said.