Two cousins were arrested this past week after they allegedly snuck onto a private ranch to illegally hunt hogs and were tracked down through surveillance cameras, a Snapchat video and an impounded pit bull.
Gavin Keith Dasher, 30, of Oxford, and his 18-year-old cousin, Gracin Randell Dasher-Richardson of Wildwood, were arrested by Sumter County sheriff’s deputies on misdemeanor trespassing charges.
The investigation began in late May when a detective found suspicious tire tracks leading to a fenced, private cattle ranch along Interstate 75 in Bushnell. The property owner authorized deputies to investigate after reporting that trespassers had been illegally hunting hogs on his land.
The detective set up hidden surveillance cameras in the area. Late on the night of June 3, the cameras captured three men and a black dog moving hastily through a metal gate onto the property.
When deputies responded to the area, they located a Chevrolet pickup truck parked nearby. As deputies approached, they spotted three men who suddenly turned and fled westbound deep into the ranch. While the men managed to escape, deputies captured a tan pit bull equipped with a tracking collar that was left behind. The dog was transported to Sumter County Animal Services, and the truck, which was registered to a third man, was towed.
During the investigation, detectives uncovered a Snapchat video uploaded by the truck owner that showed the men catching and releasing a hog while accompanied by a black pit bull and the same tan pit bull that deputies had captured.
The suspects’ story completely unraveled on June 4 when they arrived at Sumter County Animal Services to retrieve the impounded dog. According to the arrest report, Dasher and the truck owner initially lied about their identities and claimed they did not know each other, despite pulling up to the facility in Dasher’s truck.
Dasher-Richardson was also present and signed documents claiming the tan pit bull was his. He eventually admitted to deputies that he, Dasher, the truck owner and an unnamed friend had been hog hunting on the private property the night they fled from law enforcement.
The arrest report noted that Dasher had just been cited days earlier, on May 31, by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for hog hunting with free-running dogs in the nearby Jumper Creek Wildlife Management Area.
Dasher and Dasher-Richardson were both arrested Wednesday and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center. They were released after posting $1,000 bond each.