Trophy buck story heads to court

RED WING - Among the score or more of long-faced men and women who were part of the weekly "cattle call" here Thursday in Goodhue County District Court, Troy Alan Reinke didn't particularly stand out.

Dressed in blue jeans, running shoes, long-sleeved T-shirt and camouflage fleece jacket, Reinke could have been among the many who appeared before Judge Kevin F. Mark for boozing and driving.

Instead, Reinke, 32, of Cannon Falls, is alleged to have poached a monster whitetail buck Halloween evening, a charge that has riveted many deer hunters, in Minnesota and throughout the nation.

The reason: The buck that allegedly fell at Reinke's hands would have been the highest-scoring 8-point whitetail ever registered by Pope and Young or Boone and Crockett, which chronicle such trophies.

Reinke pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to 13 misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors stemming from the poaching case.

The Department of Natural Resources says Reinke first told officers he killed the big buck with a bow, after earlier in the season felling a smaller buck and doe. Reinke was licensed to kill only one deer, a buck or doe, and because he hadn't registered either of the smaller animals -- saving his tag for the trophy buck -- all three were deemed poached by the DNR.

The Goodhue County complaint against Reinke alleges he took the big buck to a taxidermist, who "caped" it in preparation for mounting. Subsequently, the animal's hide, along with its skull and antlers, were confiscated by the DNR.

When tests on the hide showed it was killed by a gun, not a bow, Reinke changed his story, according to the DNR, saying in fact he didn't kill the buck with a stick and string, but instead found it already dead.

Reinke doubtless wants to avoid association with gun-killed deer because terms of his probation stemming from a domestic assault conviction in June prohibit him from possessing firearms.

Court documents show Reinke also has been convicted of gas theft, marijuana possession and assault. He's also been cited by the DNR for fishing with two lines, and warned for fishing without his license.

Last summer, he served 50 days of a 120-day sentence on the domestic assault conviction.

Documents filed in Goodhue County allege Reinke violated his probation when he was charged in the deer poaching case. His probation officer, Amanda Mrozek, claims Reinke hasn't remained law-abiding, as required, failed to pay $183 in fines in the domestic abuse case, and failed to notify her after being charged for deer poaching.

Before court Thursday, Reinke was booked at the Goodhue County Justice Center on charges stemming from the alleged poaching.

Later, in a small room just outside court, Reinke told assistant Goodhue County attorney Dave Grove he wanted a public defender.

Attorney Tim Dillon of Cannon Falls was assigned to defend Reinke, and the two stood side by side before Judge Mark as Reinke entered his non-guilty pleas.

Poachers long ago -- before America was settled -- often were considered folk heroes, not unlike Robin Hood, who occasionally stole a bird or deer from landed gentry.

But such characterizations have since gone by the wayside, particularly in the U.S., where wildlife is everyone's province, regardless where it resides, on public or private property.

Additionally, a movement among hunters in recent decades to nurture the growth of mature whitetails has gained momentum, increasing not only the value of these animals among the sporting public, but, as importantly, their cachet.

So when a buck the size of the one Reinke killed -- or found -- was first reported, accompanied by photos of the animal that circulated on the Internet, hunters throughout North America took notice.

Minnesota could grow a buck like that -- an 8-pointer whose nearly perfectly symmetrical antlers green-scored 190 gross, 185 net? A buck that reportedly field-dressed at 265 pounds?

Dude.

But just as quickly, the excitement ended. Or, rather, turned to resentment.

Clever as old whitetails are, this buck, many hunters imagined, must have been more clever still. How else, with that gaudy headgear, could it have eluded all comers for so long?

Not just hunters, but also nighttime drivers who surely over the years occasionally caught this titan in their fast-approaching headlights?

Then, on Halloween evening 2009 -- one way or another -- it was lights out.

Reinke will next appear in court Jan. 21.

Dennis Anderson • danderson@startribune.com