Ohio hunter forfeits over 200 antlers, hit with 10-year suspension after multi-year investigation

Ohio hunter forfeits over 200 antlers, hit with 10-year suspension after multi-year investigation

WHIO Staff

Thu, January 29, 2026 at 1:52 PM UTC

1 min read

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An Allen County man was recently charged in a multi-year investigation, which involved the forfeiture of over 200 antlers.

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In January 2023, an informant told Ohio Division of Wildlife officers that “something just seemed strange” about a situation involving a Harrod man’s son shooting a large buck.

The caller thought the man, Steven Niese, had shot the buck instead of his son.

Wildlife officers discovered the caller was right.

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After a lengthy investigation, Niese was found guilty of three counts of possession of untagged deer parts and three counts of falsifying information when game checking a deer.

As part of his conviction, Niese was forced to forfeit 58 antlered deer skulls, two shoulder mounts, 11 antlers on broken skull caps, and 164 sawed-off antlers.

Niese was also hit with nearly $4,300 in fines and court costs, on top of being ordered to pay over $10,400 in restitution and spend nine days in jail served over weekends of specific deer seasons.

His hunting license has also been suspended for 10 years in all 50 states.

The Ohio Division of Wildlife noted on social media that Niese has 14 prior convictions since 2001 in four different counties. He previously spent 30 days in jail on a deer-related charge and had a three-year revocation in 2017 for possession of untagged antlers.

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