A Montana real estate agent with a history of game violations has been found guilty of felony unlawful possession of a trophy mule deer buck and of hunting without landowner permission, a misdemeanor.
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According to investigators, Hyatt Voy, who was at the time working as a real estate agent with Live Water Properties, used his license to gain access to a ranch property belonging to a listing lead without the landowner’s permission. Once he had accessed the property, he killed a trophy mule deer buck. When the landowner complained to authorities, Voy admitted to the crime.
This was Voy’s third such offense since 2017; he has game violations dating back to 2015 in surrounding counties.
The killing of the deer took place in 2024. Subsequently, according to LinkedIn, Voy left Live Water and moved to a role as an agent at Bill Bahny & Associates Ranch Real Estate Brokers. According to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Voy’s salesperson license is still active.
Voy received a suspended sentence of four years with the Department of Corrections, with 102 days to serve, and will have to pay fines plus $8,000 in restitution. He will also have hunting, fishing and trapping privileges suspended for seven years, both in Montana and in the 48 other states that hold membership in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
Voy previously served 10 days of his sentence and is scheduled to report back for the 92 days remaining in September, which coincides with the beginning of the fall hunting season in Montana. According to court records obtained by The Missoulian, Voy has appealed his case to the Montana Supreme Court.
In her sentencing order, Judge Heather Perry wrote, “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.”
