Jessie Jade Dennis pleads guilty to shooting roos, evading police

A 35-year-old Roma cattle worker has pleaded guilty to shooting roos after police found two dead roos in the back of his car after a traffic crash in 2022.

A Roma man has faced court for illegally shooting kangaroos and evading police. Picture: Rescue Rehabilitate Release

A 35-year-old Roma man who shot kangaroos and evaded police has been ordered off the roads for two years and forced to pay nearly $10,000 in fines.

At 2am on January 6, 2022, police were called out to a serious traffic crash about 17km north of Injune, a town about 90km north of Roma, where they found two kangaroos in the back of Jessie Jade Dennis’ car, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

The 35-year-old and another occupant of the car told police they were both out that night shooting and harvesting kangaroos, prosecutor Bettina Trenear said.

Police discovered Dennis neither had a macropod harvesting permit nor a weapons licence, she said.

The day after, when police returned to the crash scene, they found five kangaroo carcasses nearby “dressed for meat processing with both their heads and legs removed”, she told the court.

Six months later, in August 2022, police were patrolling Taroom, about 157km east of Injune, after reports a LandCruiser was trespassing and occupants were shooting kangaroos alongside the road, the court was told.

Police encountered a vehicle with shooting ramps attached at the rear, activated their sirens and attempted to stop the vehicle, she said.

The vehicle did not stop, but continued driving, and police had to call off the pursuit due to the condition of the road, she said.

When police tracked down Dennis, he told them he was the driver and was checking on yabby pots, but was not aware of passing any police cars.

Dennis pleaded guilty to two counts of taking protected animals and one evasion offence in court on Wednesday, July 17.

Living rurally, the court was told how going without a licence for two years would have a “profound impact” for Dennis as he lives “some hours” away from where he worked.

He had no issue with drugs or alcohol, and had barely any traffic history for someone who had spent many hours driving on the road, the court heard.

He was fined $9065 and was disqualified from driving for two years.

No conviction was recorded.