Judge drops poaching charges

A judge dismissed poaching charges against a Bonners Ferry veterinarian Wednesday after he found the man’s rights had been violated during a 2009 investigation. The man, Roland Hall, 56, and his hunting partner, Dennis Liermann Jr., 32, were charged with illegally taking one bull elk each on Sept. 5, 2009, in Priest Lake. Hall was charged with one felony and two misdemeanors in October 2009. Judge Benjamin Simpson ruled that an Idaho Fish and Game officer did not read Hall his Miranda rights before questioning him. Simpson ruled that statements made by Hall during the investigation are inadmissible in court. “It has now been determined that there is insufficient evidence remaining to adequately support the case at trial, making a conviction unlikely,” said Boundary County Prosecutor Jack Douglas in a news release. The release did not say whether charges against Liermann were dropped.