Two northern Michigan men have been arraigned in Kalkaska County District Court on charges of illegally torturing and killing animals, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Nicholas Patnode, 19, faces 11 charges while Zander Garrett, 20, faces three for several alleged wildlife violations in Kalkaska County between October and November of 2022. The arraignment was Monday. A plea agreement was processed in the Kalkaska County juvenile court for a third man whom the DNR did not name due to his age at the time of the alleged crime.
Patnode and Garrett are accused of multiple wildlife crimes, including shooting deer from a motor vehicle, game tagging violations, and animal cruelty. The DNR believes they killed six deer illegally, including a 9-point buck that was shot from the window of a truck, and inhumanely killed a porcupine.
“When there’s this many violations, including torturing animals, education only goes so far. These crimes need to be addressed,” Jason Haines, chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division, said in the news release. “Prosecution of these acts will hopefully deter not only these individuals but others from committing similar crimes in the future.”
Patnode’s charges include two counts of killing and torturing animals, which is a third-degree felony and punishable by up to four years in jail. He also faces eight counts of wildlife conservation violation and one count of hunting and fishing license violation, according to the news release.
Garrett has been charged with one count of killing and torturing animals and two counts of wildlife conservation violation, the DNR said in the news release.
DNR conservation officers began investigating the men after receiving a tip through the organization’s poaching hotline in 2022.
“Our officers conducted a very thorough investigation to piece together many pieces of evidence from throughout the county,” Haines said in the news release.
Garrett and Patnode were arrested on April 12 and released on bond the following day. Their next court appearance is scheduled for May 20, according to the DNR.