Ste. Genevieve man charged with wildlife violations in Colo.

~ Gregory Jaegers is accused of committing eight felonies and 14 misdemeanors.

Three Missouri men have been charged with numerous felony wildlife violations in Colorado after an ongoing investigation by officers from three state conservation agencies.

Ste. Genevieve hunting outfitter Renegade Guide Service, operating in Colorado, is the target of the 3-year long investigation. The case began in 2003 when officers and investigators with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department notified the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Missouri Department of Conservation that alleged unlawful hunting and outfitting activities were being committed in Colorado by Missouri residents.

Ste. Genevieve resident Gregory J. Jaegers, 40, owner of Renegade Guide Service, has been charged with eight felony and 14 misdemeanor counts, including charges of illegal sale of wildlife and willful destruction of wildlife.

Dan Miller, lead investigator with the Colorado Department of Wildlife, said under Colorado statutes, any time an animal is killed for its body parts and left to spoil is willful destruction of wildlife and is illegal.

"In this particular instance we know of three animals -- elk, bears and mountain lions -- that fall under this category," Miller said. The wildlife violations also include Jaegers operating the hunting outfitter without a valid license.

Keith C. Schweiss, 47, of Bloomsdale, Mo. and Richard W. Schroeder, 45, of Festus, Mo., were each charged with several felony and misdemeanor counts, including willful destruction of wildlife.

Cape Girardeau County conservation agent Darin Pettit was involved in the three-year joint investigation and said it's one of the biggest wildlife investigations in the state of Missouri.

"There is a significantly large group of guys involved in this," he said. "There are a lot more charges expected to be filed against suspects within the next week."

In Oct. 2005, a search warrant was served in eastern Missouri, and interviews with several suspects were conducted by Pettit and several other Missouri Department of Conservation investigators.

The investigative work uncovered years of alleged wildlife violations in Colorado. Hunters from Missouri, Colorado, Louisiana and Texas were identified in connection with the suspected violations, according to a Colorado Division of Wildlife press release.

"The further we examined the activities of these individuals, the larger the case became," Miller said. "Greg Jaegers is probably at the front end of this whole thing, and we're still looking into who else was involved."

The three Missouri men are scheduled to appear in a bond hearing on Wednesday, March 22 at the Garfield County District Court in Garfield County, Colo.

Pettit said further information about the investigation will be released within the next couple of weeks.

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246