Serial Poacher Faces Decade Ban for Illegal Deer Kill, Jailed for Driving Blunder

A 45-year-old Idaho man managed to dodge jail time for his role in the illegal killing of a mule deer, but ultimately got nailed after showing up to court behind the wheel with a suspended license.

In another example of things that make you go hmmmmmmm, Nathan Lloyd Archibald of Rexburg, Idaho found himself at the center of controversy after illegally killing a mule deer and leaving it to waste on private property. 

In an incident dating back to December 17 of 2023, Idaho Fish and Game officers received a tip through the Citizens Against Poaching hotline about a large mule deer buck that had been shot and abandoned on private property in Madison County. Three officers responded around 6:30 p.m., with two in plain clothes stationed near the deer to catch the suspect if they returned. A vehicle was spotted near the scene, and officers initiated a traffic stop, identifying Nathan Lloyd Archibald as the driver. 

According to reports from responding officers, they noticed that Archibald was visibly nervous and was sweating despite the cold December weather. At the time of the stop, Archibald claimed that he and his passenger were hunting coyotes. It didn’t take long for his equally nervous passenger to completely roll over on Archibald and confirm to officers that Archibald had shot the deer earlier that day and they had returned to retrieve it, intending to "take it out whole" to avoid wasting it. 

Investigators later learned that the deer had been left for over 24 hours, a violation of Idaho Code, which requires edible portions of game to be retrieved within 24 hours if reasonably accessible. Given his flagrant attitude towards the illegal killing, Archibald was charged with one felony count of unlawful possession of wildlife and multiple misdemeanors, including; hunting with revoked privileges, lacking an appropriate game tag, two counts of unlawful taking of game animals, unlawful hunting with artificial light and trespassing on private property to hunt.

In October 2024, Archibald was arrested, and a warrant was issued with an initial bond of $25,000, later reduced to $2,500, which he posted for release on October 22. In a March 2025 plea agreement, Archibald pleaded guilty to the felony charge of unlawful possession of wildlife, while the state dismissed the misdemeanor charges. Another case against him, involving four felony counts of unlawful killing of animals and nine similar misdemeanors, was also dismissed as part of the deal.

Earlier this month, Archibald finally appeared before District Judge Steven Boyce for sentencing. During the proceedings, Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood recommended three years of probation with an underlying sentence of two years fixed and two years indeterminate if probation failed. Archibald’s attorney, Jim Archibald, argued for a withheld judgment to avoid a felony conviction impacting his client’s business income, citing a low recidivism score of 11 from the pre-sentence investigation. However, Judge Boyce noted the investigation’s lukewarm recommendation for probation, expressing skepticism about Archibald’s compliance based on his history of Fish and Game violations dating back to 2007.

Ultimately, Boyce sentenced Archibald to four years of probation, a 10-year hunting license suspension, 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay $500 in court costs, as well as a civil fine of $2,000.

Restitution was estimated at approximately $10,000, though the exact amount was still under review due to disputes over the type of animal and licensing claims.

With 180 days of discretionary jail time in his back pocket, the judge later learned from a bailiff that, despite the defendants apparent best interests, he had shown up to sentencing driving with a suspended license.

"You drove yourself here to this sentencing today still on a suspended license, which makes me question whether you are capable of following rules of probation," Boyce said.

Given the fact that fines seemed to do nothing to deter Archibald's behavior, Boyce sentenced him to 60 days in jail prior to his probation as a matter of deterrence.

"I want to drive home the point of how serious it is for you to follow all these rules and regulations," Boyce said. "I'd like an opportunity (to grant withheld judgment) to let you get this felony off your record, but I simply don't think you're ready to do that at this point."