Colorado Parks and Wildlife

10/19/2022

Three men arrested in connection to suspected poaching ring in Park County

10/19/22

Joey Livingston
Statewide Public Information Officer
303-345-4658 / joseph.livingston@state.co.us

Three men arrested in connection to suspected poaching ring in Park County

Notice: CPW will not be conducting media interviews in relation to this ongoing investigation.

On Tuesday, in the course of a criminal investigation into poaching in Park County, CPW executed search warrants at two houses in Colorado Springs and one in Fremont County and made three arrests.

The warrants and arrests were part of an ongoing CPW investigation into a Park County poaching case. A vehicle, firearms and wildlife parts were seized as evidence in relation to the investigation.

David Schlitt, age 64, was arrested on suspicion of felony and misdemeanor charges including willful destruction of elk, failure to prepare game meat for human consumption, hunting without a proper and valid license, along with other related charges.

Robert Schlitt, age 36, was arrested on suspicion of felony and misdemeanor charges including willful destruction of elk and bear, failure to prepare game meat for human consumption, hunting without a proper and valid license, along with other related charges.

Richard Schlitt, age 33, was arrested on suspicion of felony and misdemeanor charges including willful destruction of elk and bear and failure to prepare game meat for human consumption.

“When you poach an animal, not only is it illegal, but you are stealing from the people of Colorado,” said Mark Lamb, CPW’s area wildlife manager for Park County. “We do not tolerate poaching and take these crimes very seriously.”

CPW wildlife officers, park rangers and the Colorado Springs Police Department participated in the searches.

“I would like to thank CSPD for their support and assistance in this investigation,” said Tim Kroening, CPW’s area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region.

The case remains under active investigation and CPW will make no further comment at this time.

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CPW is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.

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Three men arrested in connection to suspected poaching ring in Park County