Oregon man already accused of poaching deer now facing more charges

OREGON – An Oregon man who already is facing multiple charges of poaching whitetail deer in Lee and Ogle counties appeared in court Monday on two new felony charges of theft and unlawful possession of a controlled substance following a search at his home earlier this month.

Brandon S. Miller, 30, waived his preliminary hearing on the new charges when he appeared with his attorney, Eric Morrow, in front of Ogle County Judge John “Ben” Roe.

Roe set the next court hearing for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 25. Assistant State’s Attorney Matthew Leisten agreed to that date.

The new charges against Miller accuse him of knowingly taking “unauthorized control” of a U.S. savings bond worth between $500 and $10,000 in order to “deprive the owner permanent use or benefit.”

He also is charged with possessing less than 15 grams of Adderall, a controlled substance, and possessing not more than five cannabis plants.

The theft and controlled substance charges are felony offenses, while the possession of cannabis plants is a civil violation.

Those charges follow an Oct. 3 search of Miller’s home by the Ogle County Sheriff’s Special Operations Unit with the assistance of the Illinois Conservation Police.

Miller already is facing multiple charges of poaching whitetail deer in Lee and Ogle counties, including one case in which Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police accuse him of illegally taking six deer from Lowell Park, a Dixon city park and nature preserve that is off limits to hunters.

Miller also was ticketed Sept. 13 in Ogle County for possessing a “freshly killed” male deer during closed season. In that case, conservation police said they found Miller with a “bloody knife and bloody [and] 13-point buck” at 3 p.m. on Brooks Island Road, just south of Oregon.

A violation of probation report was filed Oct. 21, stating that because of the new charges, his probation sentence for a 2022 burglary should be revoked.

He was indicted Feb. 16 in Lee County court on a charge of unlawful use of game, which is punishable by two to five years in prison.

However, because of a previous felony burglary conviction in Ogle County within the last 10 years, Miller is eligible for an enhanced sentence of two to 10 years.

According to the indictment, Miller “knowingly possessed any animal part or parts, namely, six whitetail deer, a species that is protected under the Illinois Wildlife Code, having a value greater than $3,000.”

Per statute, the value is $1,000 per whitetail deer, plus $500 per point for antlered deer up to 10 points, and $750 per point for 11 points or more.

In this case, Miller is accused of taking four does and two bucks, one with an eight-point rack and one with an 11-point rack, for a total value of $18,250.

If convicted, he will be required to pay that sum in mandatory restitution to the IDNR, plus court fines and fees.

The indictment also includes one count of unlawful use of game-multiple violations, which accuses Miller of knowingly violating the statute multiple times.

The animals were taken on six occasions, from Sept. 27 to Oct. 14, 2023, conservation police said.

That charge carries one to three years, but because of the burglary conviction, he faces an enhanced sentence of one to six years if convicted.

According to the conservation police field report, Miller was interviewed Oct. 17, 2023, by officer Randy Leannah about multiple deer takings between Sept. 27 and Oct. 4, 2023. Miller initially said he took five, but Leannah learned of the sixth during the interview.

During the interview, Miller said he shot does on Sept. 27, Oct. 3, Oct. 4 and Oct. 8, 2023; the 11-point buck on Oct. 1, 2023; and the eight-point buck on Oct. 14, 2023, all with a crossbow.

The penalty is $1,000 for each doe, $5,000 for the eight-point buck and $9,250 for the 11-point buck.

A pretrial conference in that case is set for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 21.

Ogle County charges

In addition to the two felony counts in Lee County, Miller is charged with three more felony counts and 18 misdemeanor counts in Ogle County, court records show.

He was charged Dec. 29, 2023, with two counts of unlawful use of game, and faces the extended term of two to 10 years in prison, plus mandatory restitution, and another unlawful use of game-multiple violation, for which he also is eligible for the extended sentence of one to six years.

According to the charging documents, on Dec. 8 and 15, Miller had two whitetail deer heads each day, and both times they were worth more than $3,000. On Dec. 4, he possessed a whitetail worth less than $3,000.

Miller was cited in 2023 with the unlawful taking of a whitetail and transporting an uncased bow, and on Dec. 14, 2023, with using the hunting license of another, unlawful taking or possessing deer, and a deer-hunting permit violation.

According to the conservation police citations, the last three violations happened Oct. 29, 2023, in Lowden Miller State Forest in Oregon.

He was charged Jan. 22 with 11 misdemeanors – two counts of unlawful taking or possessing deer, two deer-hunting permit violations, wasting usable meat, unlawful possession of animal parts, taking animals along a highway, unlawful transportation of a weapon (an uncased bow), harassing an animal with his vehicle lights, hunting within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling and hunting at night.

According to the citations, the 11 violations took place the morning of Dec. 17, 2023, at Lost Lake in rural Dixon, which is located in Ogle County.

He was charged in a separate case that same day with trespassing and littering from a vehicle. According to the citations, Miller was at Lost Nation park after the owner told him he could not be there, and he also threw beer cans out his vehicle window.

All of the violations in both counties took place while Miller was on probation in the Ogle County burglary case, court records show.