A northern Minnesota man faces two felony animal mistreatment charges for allegedly shooting his neighbor’s dog while the German shepherd was in an outdoor kennel. The charges stem from evidence found while the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources was looking into poaching allegations against the man, identified as 26-year-old Brandon Mutchler.
The state agency began investigating Mutchler’s suspicious activity on Nov. 1 when conservation officer Demo Regas stopped two men dressed in blaze orange in Beltrami County, Minnesota, according to the Star Tribune. The two hunters were Brandon Mutchler and his father, Thomas Mutchler.
Regas remembered a Turn In Poachers hotline tip that Brandon Mutchler had possibly shot more than his limit of deer the previous season. According to the Star Tribune, DNR records showed that Mutchler had sent two sets of antlers to two different taxidermists. Beltrami County has a one-buck limit.
When questioned, Brandon initially told Regas that he had not killed any deer during the 2022 season. When confronted with the DNR records, Mutchler told the officer he had shot a single buck that he hadn’t checked. He claimed his girlfriend had killed the other buck. His girlfriend, however, told Regas that the second buck Brandon had dropped at the taxidermist had been roadkill.
Photo by Jessica Juelson / Facebook
When law enforcement executed a search warrant on the Mutchler’s residence, officers discovered a freezer full of venison from multiple deer and a freezer bag containing bear claws. They also discovered a journal that detailed how Brandon had baited bears without a license during the 2022 season. The notebook also indicated he illegally shot a 1 1/2-year-old doe.
“I get it,” Brandon told officers, according to the Star Tribune. “I take too many deer, and I didn’t register them.”
In separate interviews, Thomas and Brandon both admitted that their family has been baiting bears on their property for years. Baiting bears is not illegal in Minnesota; however, anyone who fails to register a bait station or who places one without a current year bear license commits a petty misdemeanor.
Officials also executed a search warrant on Brandon’s cell phone, finding hundreds of photos of him, his father, and his brothers with over-limit deer from the 2021, 2022, and 2023 seasons. The phone also had pictures of bears shot in 2021 and 2022 and a timber wolf killed in 2023. Minnesota has no public wolf hunting season because they have been a federally protected species since February 2022. Brandon’s brother, Matthew, is charged with killing the wolf.
Brandon Mutchler, his father, Thomas, and his two brothers, Matthew and Nicholas, are charged with failing to register deer during the 2021-2022 hunting season. He is also charged with overkilling deer, failing to register deer and bear, and illegally transporting bears. Charges indicate he shot four deer total in 2023 (a doe and three bucks) and five deer in 2022 (a doe and four bucks).
The search of Brandon’s phone revealed his search history, which included queries like: “How far do police look into pet murders,” “MN law on killing someones dog,” “Can police get prints off a fired .22 shell?” and “Is shooting a dog a felonie.”
In August, a Beltrami County Sheriff’s deputy took a report of a dog that had been shot inside his kennel, according to KSTP news. The German shepherd named Sysco was owned by Daniel and Jessica Juelson, who discovered six .22-caliber casings outside the dog’s kennel, which was just 50 feet from their house, according to a Facebook post by Jessica.
Brandon Mutchler was initially a subject in Sysco’s shooting because of his proximity to the Juelsons’ home. During questioning, Mutchler denied shooting the dog.
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In light of the new evidence on Brandon’s phone, however, he has also been charged with one count each of animal torture and animal cruelty in addition to the poaching-related allegations. Under Minnesota statute, the penalty for intentionally killing a pet is a fine of up to $5,000, up to two years in prison, or both. Failure to register a deer in Minnesota is a petty misdemeanor which carries a $50 fine. It is a gross misdemeanor to not register a bear. In Minnesota, a gross misdemeanor can result in a fine of up to $3,000 and up to a year in prison.