Colorado soldiers convicted of poaching deer on Fort Carson, state land

Two soldiers at Fort Carson were convicted of poaching mule deer on the military and state land, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said.

State wildlife officials started investigating in November 2024 after a hunter reported finding a buck that appeared to be poached on the base, the agency said in a news release Tuesday.

When a CPW officer arrived in the area, they found a partially processed buck that had been abandoned with “select cuts of meat removed and the antlers cut off,” state officials said.

The officer found a doe 100 yards away that was also partially processed and abandoned, and both locations showed signs of illegal poaching, CPW leaders said in a news release.

The investigating wildlife officer found evidence to identify a vehicle connected to the case and later found related pictures on social media of Army Sgt. Jacob Curtis Keyser and Staff Sgt. Juan Salcedo.

Investigators also executed search warrants that uncovered evidence of poaching and trespassing in Keyser’s vehicle and on his phone.

A third soldier, whom state officials did not name, was fined $900 for disposing of Keyser’s poached venison right before Keyser was interviewed by a state wildlife investigator.