GREAT FALLS – A Montana man who was recently sentenced to fines and jail time will spend most of the 2026 fall hunting season in the Fergus County Detention Center after his conviction for poaching a trophy mule deer buck in central Montana.
Hyatt Voy was sentenced in the Tenth Judicial District Court in Lewistown to four years with the Department of Corrections, with all time suspended except for 102 days, along with additional fines and $8,000 restitution and a seven-year suspension of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges in Montana and 48 other member states of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Voy has already served 10 days in the Fergus County Detention Center and must report back for the remaining 92 days of his sentence next September at the beginning of the 2026 fall hunting season in Montana.
During the 2024 general hunting season Voy, a realtor working in the Lewistown area, used his real estate license to gain access to a ranch property and potential real estate listing the owners were attempting to sell. During a visit to the property, Voy killed a trophy mule deer buck without landowner permission. Wardens responded to a complaint from the landowner, and Voy later admitted to the crime. The deer was donated to the food bank, and the antlers will be kept for educational use or sold at auction.
Voy already has an extensive history with FWP violations dating back to 2015 in Park, Garfield and Fergus counties, and the 2024 unlawful possession charge was his third offense of that type since 2017. In October 2025, he was found guilty in a jury trial in Stanford for felony unlawful possession of a trophy mule deer buck and hunting without landowner permission, a misdemeanor.
District Court Judge Heather Perry stated in her sentencing order, "Hunting without permission and lying about it results in a negative appearance for all of the professional realtors who work very hard to maintain both their reputation and trust of their clients and potential clients. Similarly, responsible hunters are very careful to treat the opportunity to hunt on private land as a privilege, so the landowners continue to allow hunting."
Anyone who observes a hunting violation or has information about a potential crime can go to tipmont.mt.gov and click on the area where the incident happened. FWP's website provides contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses, for wardens around the state. You may be eligible for a reward.