Trial date set in game case

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — Even legendary big game hunters and guides can be brought down by the full weight of the American legal system when they are convicted of breaking the law.

The case of Kirt Darner and his wife, Paula D. Darner, could provide a good example of that.

Some of the charges lodged against Darner, who was 66 at the time of the original indictment, are two counts each of transporting stolen livestock, receiving stolen property, conspiracy to transport stolen livestock and tampering with evidence. His wife, 49 at the time of her indictment, was charged with six felony and 13 misdemeanor charges.

The Darners' trial is expected to begin on April 23, 2007. Darner, if convicted of all charges could face maximum penalties of up to 33 years in prison on nine felony counts, while his wife, if convicted, could face up to 24 years in prison on six felony counts.

In February 2006, the grand jury indicted Darner for illegally drugging and moving up to four wild elk, three of them state-owned, on a 40-acre Lobo Canyon ranch to Pancho Peaks Ranch and Game Park, owned by Steve W. Lewis of Artesia in 2004. Lewis was indicted on two felony counts of conspiracy involving controlled substances to sedate a large bull elk for transportation.

Darner is from Crawford, Colo., and is best known as a noted trophy mule deer hunter, hunting guide and author of numerous trophy hunting books. Darner was also the subject of numerous articles and interviews in outdoor and hunting magazines, including many features on his life and career in "Outdoor Life."

Darner also claimed at one point in his long career that he had brought down more Boone and Crockett trophy deer than anyone else in the books; however, that claim was challenged, and in anger and protest, Darner removed all his claims from the Boone and Crockett record books.

Darner is no stranger to law enforcement. Once the advertising face for Remington bolt action rifles in the '70s and '80s, had his license revoked by wildlife authorities in Colorado for three years in 2001 after it was discovered that a hunter Darner was guiding shot illegally at an elk decoy from the window of a truck. The hunter Darner was guiding at the time also did not possess a permit for that particular hunt unit.