Freeburg mayor, former Cardinals player still fighting 2022 hunting citations
It’s been three years since Illinois Conservation Police issued 29 citations and 22 written warnings to eight people – including a village mayor and a former Major League Baseball player – for alleged hunting violations on private property in rural Freeburg.
All but one of the men pleaded not guilty and requested jury trials in St. Clair County Circuit Court. But there have been no trials or plea agreements, only continuances granted every 90 or 120 days.
Now, State’s Attorney James Gomric’s office has assigned a new prosecutor, resulting in another set of continuances last week.
“They’re still reviewing the case,” said attorney John Baricevic, who represents Danny Cox, 66, former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher and Gateway Grizzlies manager; his sons, Kyle Cox, 35, and Kamdan Cox, 30; and Steve Pate, 65, a guest from Georgia. Baricevic is a former state’s attorney and judge.
Chris Allen, spokesman for Gomric, declined to reveal identities of the prosecuting attorneys, past or present, calling such assignments an “internal function” of the office.
It’s unknown what a new prosecutor will mean for the Cox hunting party or three other defendants, including Seth Speiser, 61, Freeburg mayor for 12 years; his son Mitchell Speiser, 28; and a guest, Brian Forrester, 37.
Under state law, the seven men collectively face up to $45,000 in fines and possible jail time, and they could get their hunting licenses revoked for a period of time.
“The new prosecutor is going to look at (the citations) and at some point get back to us with some type of offer,” said Belleville attorney Greg Skinner, who represents the Speisers and Forrester.
Danny Cox couldn’t be reached for comment. Seth Speiser declined comment due to pending litigation. Officials with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which includes Illinois Conservation Police, declined comment through their spokesman, Brandon Damm.
Hundreds of acres of habitat
St. Clair County parcel records show that Danny and Nancy Cox own more than 300 acres of mostly wooded land with lakes and ponds along Buck Ridge Road, south of Illinois 15, in rural Freeburg.
Seth Speiser and his wife, Elaine, owned about 77 acres off Illinois 15 until 2023, when a portion changed ownership with a parcel split.
In the fall of 2022, Illinois Conservation Police, formerly known as game wardens, conducted an investigation involving the Cox and Speiser properties for more than a month, including aerial surveillance by an Illinois State Police airplane, according to IDNR reports.
Officers arrived at the Cox property on Nov. 18, 2022, and issued 21 citations and 12 written warnings to five people for alleged hunting violations — including deer hunting without proper permits, illegal placement of bait for deer, and the taking of a 10-point buck and an 8-point buck with the aid of bait.
“When questioned about Nancy’s harvests, Danny told me he used Nancy’s firearm deer permit to harvest a doe on 12/04/21 and Kamdan used her archery deer permit on 10/08/22 to harvest a 5 pt. buck,” an officer wrote in one report, referring to Danny Cox’s wife, who doesn’t hunt.
Police also allege that Kyle Cox harvested deer using free landowner permits despite not living on the property, and that others used permits obtained in the name of his sister, Kayleigh Cox, who doesn’t hunt or live there.
Officers allegedly observed trail cameras on nine deer stands or blinds baited with corn, molasses and mineral salt. Danny Cox told them that he’s a “conservationist” who feeds deer year-round to ensure they have enough to eat, another report stated.
“(Cox) believes he’s innocent,” Baricevic said last week.
Deer baiting is illegal in Illinois due to ethical or “fair-chase” standards and the risk of disease spread from congregated feeding, according to IDNR, although more than 20 states allow it.
Also on Nov. 18, 2022, conservation police went to the Speiser property and issued eight citations and 10 written warnings to three people for alleged violations – including firearm deer hunting with the aid of bait and unlawful taking of three white-tailed deer.
Possible loss of hunting privileges
Barry Northenor, another guest of Cox from Georgia, pleaded guilty to his sole violation — failure to wear a blaze-orange hat and vest while hunting — in December 2022 and paid a fine.
Some of the other 28 citations issued to the Cox and Speiser parties required court appearances. Most are Class B misdemeanors, each carrying a potential fine of up to $1,500 and up to six months in jail.
However, many hunters are more concerned about losing their hunting privileges, according to Ed Unsell, an East Alton attorney and avid hunter who has represented clients cited for hunting violations.
Unsell explained that a Class B misdemeanor conviction results in nine points under the IDNR system. Accumulating 13 or more points within three years can lead to license revocation for a corresponding number of months.
Two Class B misdemeanor convictions equal 18 points, triggering an 18-month revocation, while a Class A misdemeanor conviction causes a hunter to accumulate 12 points.
“If that happens, and you do anything wrong in the next 36 months, you’re doomed,” Unsell said.
Unsell, who isn’t involved in the Cox or Speiser cases, referred to most of their alleged violations as “technical infractions” that often are hard for prosecutors to prove to a jury.
Defense attorneys, he said, tend to highlight issues such as the state’s deer overpopulation, or that hunters might be providing meat to family members or people in need.
“In our hunting culture, if you’re filling someone else’s doe permit or putting molasses or corn out, that is not serious at all, and most of it is overlooked,” Unsell said.
“I think the number of infractions (in the Cox and Speiser cases) are the result of who they are. They charged them with everything in the book because they are a baseball player and a mayor.”
Still, Unsell noted, most hunters would agree that using another person’s permit to kill a “trophy buck” would be considered “stepping outside of the culture” and warrant some penalty.
Parties “differ on the facts”
In the past three years, different St. Clair County judges have granted more than 10 continuances in the remaining seven Cox and Speiser cases at the request of defense attorneys.
But last week, prosecutors in Gomric’s office, apparently made the motions for continuances.
Allen declined to comment. He sent the following statement:
“The cases were recently reassigned within the State’s Attorney’s Office based on recruitment and movement of attorneys between divisions. The matter was reset for the newly assigned attorney to familiarize himself with the investigation and case developments to date.
“Discussions will take place with defense counsel over the coming weeks for all parties to announce to the Court whether the matter is ready to be reset to the trial docket.”
No documents have been filed in the seven cases, other than routine notices of appearances and continuances, since around the time of initial court appearances in December 2022.
When asked why the process was taking so long, Baricevic and Skinner said it wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“The parties differ on the facts,” Baricevic said.
List of citations and warnings
Below are the violations alleged in citations and written warnings issued by Illinois Conservation Police to people in the Cox and Speiser hunting parties on or around Nov. 18, 2022:
SETH E. SPEISER, 61, Freeburg
Citations:
- Placement of bait for deer
- Firearm deer-hunting with aid of bait
- Unlawful take of white-tailed deer
- Unlawful take of white-tailed deer
Warnings:
- Failure to wear blaze-orange hat and vest
- Transporting uncased shotguns
- Hunting without deer permits in possession
MITCHELL L. SPEISER, 28, Freeburg
Citations:
- Failure to wear blaze-orange hat and vest
- Unlawful take of white-tailed deer
Warnings:
- Transporting uncased shotguns
- Hunting without deer permits in possession
- Falsification when obtaining landowner hunting permits
- Firearm deer-hunting without valid permit
BRIAN C. FORRESTER, 37, New Athens
Citations:
- Failure to wear blaze-orange hat and vest
- Firearm deer-hunting with aid of bait
Warnings:
- Transporting uncased shotguns
- Hunting or taking deer with aid of bait
- Unlawful take of white-tailed deer
DANNY B. COX, 66, Freeburg
Citations:
- Failure to wear blaze-orange hat and vest
- Placement of bait for deer
- Firearm deer-hunting with aid of bait
- Take of 8-point buck with aid of bait
- Take of 10-point buck with aid of bait
- Use of archery deer permit issued to other
Warnings:
- Use of archery deer permit issued to other
- Use of archery deer permit issued to other
- Unlawful possession of road sign
KAMDAN B. COX, 30, Clarksville, Tennessee
Citations:
- Unlawful take of wild turkey
- Turkey hunting without valid permit
- Failure to report turkey harvest properly
- Unlawful take of 5-point buck
- Archery deer-hunting without valid permit
- Archery deer-hunting without aid of bait
- Falsifying harvest report for 5-point buck
Warnings:
- Turkey hunting with aid of bait
- Failure to tag turkey immediately upon kill
- Possession of another person’s archery deer permit
- Failure to tag 5-point buck upon kill
- Unlawful placement of waterfowl bait
KYLE B. COX, 35, Belleville
Citations:
- Firearm deer-hunting without valid permit
- Firearm deer-hunting without habitat stamp
- Providing false information to obtain permits
Warning:
- Firearm deer-hunting without license
STEVE M. PATE, 65, Marietta, Georgia
Citations:
- Firearm deer-hunting with aid of bait
- Archery deer-hunting without valid permit
- Unlawful take of 7-point buck (archery)
- Failure to tag deer immediately upon kill
Warnings:
- Firearm deer-hunting without license or stamp in possession
- Providing false or deceptive information to police
BARRY T. NORTHENOR, 66, of Roswell, Georgia
Citation:
- Failure to wear blaze-orange hat and vest
Warning:
- Firearm deer-hunting with aid of bait
