Alaska Wildlife Troopers based in Soldotna received information on September 25, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. that a hunter had shot and killed a sub-legal bull moose and left the moose to waste on Hatton Road near mile 12 of Oil Well Road in Ninilchik. Several hunters were interviewed in the area and a suspect vehicle description was developed based on those interviews.
It was reported that 57-year-old Fred Martin Hecks of Seldovia was identified as the suspect.
Troopers applied for and received a search warrant to search Hecks’ residence in Seldovia based on investigative leads. On December, 6, 2019, two Soldotna based Wildlife Troopers, one Homer based Wildlife Trooper, and an investigator from the General Investigative Unit in Soldotna responded to Seldovia in the Patrol Vessel Augustine to serve the search warrant.
While serving the warrant, Hecks, who admitted his involvement in the incident, allegedly panicked after seeing that he killed a sub-legal moose.
Charges were forwarded to the Kenai District Attorney’s Office for review to be filed in Homer District Court. The forwarded charges include wanton waste of a big game animal, the moose; tampering with physical evidence as the investigation revealed Hecks covered the moose with Adler branches, concealing it from view, before fleeing the scene; taking a sub-legal moose as the moose taken by Hecks measured 44 inches in width with two brow tines on each antler in an area where a legal moose must be 50 inches in width or have threw or more brow tines on at least one antler; controlled use area violation as an investigation revealed he used a motorized vehicle, a 1994 Plymouth Voyager van, in the Lower Kenai Controlled Use area to hunt the moose in violation; false info on Hunt Report; unsworn falsification as the investigation revealed he submitted false information on his 2019 moose hunt report by claiming he didn’t kill a moose when, in fact, he had; and 4th degree misconduct involving a weapon for shooting on, from, or across a roadway, as the investigation revealed Hecks shot the moose while both it and he were standing on Hatton Road.
On August 9, 2021, Hecks pled guilty in the Homer District Court to wanton waste of a big game animal. Several of the aforementioned charges were dismissed with a plea deal.
Hecks was sentenced to 14 days in jail with 7 days suspended. He is to remand himself to Wildwood Pretrial before October 31, 2021. He was sentenced to a $5,000 fine with $2,500 suspended, with the unsuspended amount due to the court by August 8, 2024. He has three years of probation as of August 8, 2021.
The rifle used in the incident, along with other hunting gear that was seized during the investigation was forfeited to the state.
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