Colorado Parks and Wildlife has permanently suspended the hunting privileges of a 28-year-old Colorado Springs man, Iniki Kapu, following a three-county poaching spree. 

Kapu is accused of illegally poaching 12 deer, two turkeys and a bighorn sheep ram in Teller, Fremont and Chaffee counties since 2018, according to the CPW.

In December 2019, Kapu pleaded guilty in 4th Judicial District Court in Teller County. Then he appeared again in the 11th Judicial District Court in Fremont County where he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a bighorn sheep. He also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of three or more big-game animals that year, the CPW reported.

As part of a plea agreement, Kapu was fined $4,600 and sentenced to six months in jail and three years supervised probation in Fremont County.

Kapu later pled guilty to illegal possession of wildlife and was fined $900 in the Chaffee County case in 2019, according to the CPW.

“Iniki Kapu is viewed as a serious threat to Colorado’s wildlife and his violations are among the worst. The severity and level of indifference for wildlife in this case are rarely seen and cannot be tolerated,” said CPW hearing examiner Steven Cooley. 

As a result of this lifetime ban Kapu will likely never hunt in Colorado or the 47 other states that are a part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, according to the CPW. Massachusetts and Hawaii are the only states not a part of the program that protects hunter’s privileges and wildlife.  

Kapu declined to participate in the hearing that resulted in this lifetime ban and has 35 days to appeal to the CPW Commission.