Eddie Pacheco, age 48, was convicted in February based on charges filed a year earlier.
He received a 364-day suspended sentence, 364 days of probation and was ordered to pay a $500 fine in addition to court costs and make a $100 donation to Operation Game Thief. In addition, Pacheco’s hunting, fishing, outfitting and guiding licenses are up for revocation.
An Operation Game Thief tip received Feb. 22, 2019, and additional information from hunters in the field, led Department of Game and Fish conservation officers to Pacheco. He was suspected of outfitting without registration, under the name “Badland Outfitter”, on the McKnight Ranch in Lincoln County. Due to prior violations, Pacheco was not permitted to register as an outfitter since 2016, according to certified records from the Department. His registration had been officially revoked by the Department in January 2017; the State Game Commission rescinded all revocations in December 2017.
While visiting the McKnight Ranch, Corporal Jacob Lobato of the Roswell Supervisory District and Lieutenant Brady Griffith questioned property owner Joseph McKnight about his arrangements with Pacheco, according to the officers’ report. McKnight noted that Pacheco had paid him $12,000 for six hunters to hunt on his ranch, and that Pacheco was outfitting these hunters. McKnight also told the officers that “he had driven up there that evening because Pacheco had brought more hunters with him that weekend than he was supposed to.”
Shortly after the officers’ conversation with McKnight, a truck containing three hunters arrived at the gate, Lobato said. All three hunters identified Eddie Pacheco as their outfitter for their 2019 Barbary sheep hunt and said that they paid Pacheco $2,500 each. Another truck, containing Pacheco, his daughter, son-in-law and three more hunters then pulled up to the gate.
“I spoke to each hunter after checking their sheep, and they would not admit that they had paid Pacheco,” said Lobato. “I then pulled [Pacheco] aside and told him I knew he was outfitting the six hunters, charging them each $2,500 dollars for the hunt and paying McKnight $2,000 per hunter. [Pacheco] then admitted to all of it.”
A few days later, McKnight provided Lobato with copies of the checks that Pacheco had used to pay him for hunter access, and confirmed that Pacheco did not work for him under a written contract as an agent.
The Department regulates registered outfitters, guides and outfitted hunts throughout the state. The Department’s Guide and Outfitter Registrar, Leticia Mee said, “Outfitters are business owners and are required to follow the same rules as other businesses in order to protect the public from fraud and other illegal activity. Hunters need to be careful to only book a hunt with a registered outfitter.”
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