Wildlife Officer Deme Wright had been on the job just shy of a year when the call came in: a dead mule deer on Fort Carson appeared to be poached. By the end of the investigation, the case exposed illegal poaching of multiple deer, implicated active-duty soldiers, and became one of the most consequential wildlife enforcement cases her organization faced that year.
Raised in Aurora, Deme grew up with a love of the outdoors; earliest memories included fishing with her pink Barbie fishing pole before she was big enough to cast properly. This led to years of family camping and hunting trips. By the time she reached Colorado Mesa University and earned her biology degree in 2021, her long-term career goals included working outdoors and protecting wildlife.
She joined Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 2021 as a seasonal hire with roles in aquatics, terrestrial and research areas of the agency. In 2022 she was inspired to apply to be a district wildlife officer trainee, was accepted, and began a year of training, earning her badge in June 2023.
Training included a six month police academy followed by a six month CPW Academy. Specialized CPW training included law enforcement investigations, wildlife management, wildlife forensics and more. Outdoor preparedness training included horseback riding, snowmobile and off-highway vehicle operations. Deme completed her year-long training in December 2023 and was assigned to Colorado Springs.
On a snowy day eleven months later, Officer Wright arrived on scene at Fort Carson, eyes wide open to what was immediately in front of her, and a strong faith in her investigations training. On November 24, 2024, a hunter contacted Fort Carson’s Conservation Law Enforcement Officers after finding a mule deer buck in a training area that appeared to have been poached.
When Wright arrived with the CLEOs, the scene immediately raised questions. The buck had been shot and left behind, with only a piece of the hindquarter removed. The antlers had been sawed off. Everything else — the rest of the meat — was untouched.
“It didn’t look like a normal harvest,” Wright said. “That’s when you slow everything down.”
She treated the location like any other crime scene. She located an entry wound with no exit and used her field necropsy and evidence kits to recover the bullet from inside the deer.
“There aren’t always cameras in the woods,” Wright said. “You have to let the scene tell you what happened.”
As Wright continued her search for a specific spent shell casing – on an active Army installation – she slowly expanded her search area, finding a second dead deer approximately 100 yards away. The doe had also been shot and left behind, with a choice cut of venison removed.
“To me, the second crime scene confirmed it,” Wright said. “This wasn’t accidental; this was a deliberate poacher.”
Boot tracks around both animals matched. Wright and the CLEOs followed the tracks across the installation, over a fence line and down toward a nearby road, where the prints faded into tire tracks near a wildland firefighter station. Staff there remembered a vehicle parked nearby over the previous 48 hours. It was an unusual occurrence so they had taken a photo of the vehicle.
“That photo changed everything,” Wright said. “It gave the investigation something solid.”
The vehicle was registered to Jacob Curtis Keyser, an active-duty soldier. At that point, Wright said, the case was still circumstantial. “A vehicle puts someone near the scene,” she said. “It doesn’t prove anything by itself.”
Wright stayed on the case. She and the CLEOs reviewed Keyser’s public social media accounts and found photos of deer heads and a picture that appeared to show the same buck from the first crime scene.
Wright briefed her supervisor and drafted search warrants for Keyer’s person, vehicle, cell phone and then secured judicial signatures within hours. Working with Fort Carson officials, Wright arranged to interview Keyser and execute the warrants. Ahead of the interview, Keyser asked another soldier to dispose of a cooler of poached venison.
Keyser chose to remain silent during his initial interview. Evidence gathered at the same time met Wright’s expectations, “There’s no way a 21-year-old doesn’t take pictures of everything he shoots,” she said. “Cell phone imagery documented more poaching activity and provided digital metadata evidence with times, dates and specific locations linked to each image. Messages and videos extracted from the phone showed deliberate disregard for hunting laws.”
Hours later, with his personal phone secured by Wright as evidence, Keyser contacted the wildlife officer using his sergeant’s phone and asked to meet again. Wright canceled Thanksgiving travel plans to stay on the case.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is too important to walk away from,’” said Wright. “When I met with Keyser the next day, I kept the interview focused. I just kept saying, ‘Tell me about the deer,’ …and he did.”
By the end of the interview, Keyser admitted to illegally harvesting six mule deer and to trespassing on military and state lands. He voluntarily turned over his rifle.
Digital evidence later confirmed Keyser had been hunting with an accomplice, Juan Salcedo. Keyser faced 30 wildlife charges, was fined $19,005, issued 180 suspension points and forfeiture of his hunting rifle which will be destroyed by Officer Wright now that the case has concluded.
Co-conspirator, Juan Salcedo, faced 15 charges, was fined $8,817 and issued 65 suspension points. The third soldier who disposed of the meat received a $900 fine. The charges against all three soldiers are misdemeanors.
In the months ahead, a CPW suspension hearing will determine duration of hunting and fishing suspension, if any, with possibility for a lifetime ban with reciprocity across all 50 states because of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
“This investigation highlights Officer Wright’s professionalism, attention to detail, and commitment to protecting Colorado’s wildlife,” said Frank McGee, CPW Southeast Region Manager. “Having known her earlier in her career when I was at CPW headquarters and she was going through training, I’m not surprised—she demonstrated excellence then as a student, and she continues to demonstrate it now.”
For Wright, the case continues to fuel her passion for the job. From a bullet recovered in a snowy field to boot tracks leading off a military installation, her investigation moved forward on evidence, confidence in her training and relationships with other law enforcement officers.
“You realize how fragile evidence is,” she said. “You get one chance to do it right. I care about wildlife, I care about the science behind what we do, and I have great respect for our law-abiding, ethical hunters. If you poach in Colorado, I’ll follow the evidence, I’ll find you, and I’ll cut your rifle into scrap metal.”
Information about poaching may be provided anonymously through Operation Game Thief at 1-877-265-6648 or by email to game.thief@state.co.us.
Written by Dean J. Miller. Dean is the Southeast Region Public Information Officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
9 Responses
Right On!!
Finally an article about someone in the CPW that knows what they are doing and are doing something for wildlife with our monies.
Don’t appreciate your negative tone on CPW. In reading between the lines it sounds like you had a negative encounter with CPW. They have an incredibly difficult job when dealing with J.Q. Public. The public believes they can do anything they want on public lands – no so. Kudos to this CPW officer for getting a conviction in this case. Hopefully this ring leader loses his hunting privileges for life.
Great story – with responsible, well-trained officers. Am glad my taxes are going toward this program. And am glad another woman proved her equal to a man. Any more doubts?
Excellent job! I am really glad to see a substantial fine, hopefully he loses his hunting privileges for life.
Good job, keep up the good work. Never a shortage of scumbag poachers unfortunately.
Scumbags in our outdoors is not the only location we see unethical people breaking the laws. It is unfortunate that this is how our dollars are spent. but thanks for helping keep our mountains beautiful.
Good job! Keep up the good work.
The photo looks pretty weak: three sets of antlers and a rifle. We need soldiers that know how to get a job done. Full pardon. How about going after some protestors?