The woman charged in a multi-county deer poaching scheme has been convicted.
37-year-old Jessica Kroening appeared in court yesterday (April 22nd) in Washington County for a plea hearing as she faced three charges related to deer poaching and the mistreatment of animals in both Washington and Fond du Lac Counties.
At her hearing yesterday, Kroening was convicted after entering a guilty plea to charges of Illegal Shining of Deer, Elk, or Bear and Intentionally Contributing to the Delinquency of a Child, while a third charge of Resisting a Conservation Warden was dismissed.
According to Fond du Lac County Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt, Kroening is accused of traveling around with three 16-year-old boys at night, shooting deer, and identifying the gender before deciding to leave it to die.
The four have also been accused of sawing the heads off bucks and intentionally hitting deer in the roadways with a vehicle.
It is estimated that the 37-year-old and the three teenagers are responsible for killing or mistreating over 100 deer in the area surrounding Campbellsport, West Bend, Kewaskum, Lomira, and Theresa.
Kroening will return to court on May 2nd for a sentencing hearing.
