Warrant Issued For Alleged Oregon Coast Chinook Poisoner After Court No-show

A judge has issued a warrant for the 20-year-old Oregon Coast man accused of poisoning nearly 18,000 young Chinook after he failed to appear for a “rescheduled” court appearance, adding to the suspect’s legal troubles.

Joshua Alexander Heckathorn of Gardiner reportedly couldn’t attend a hearing last week because of “transportation issues,” but when he didn’t make an appearance in court on Monday, Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Jason Thomas issued the warrant with a $10,000 bail.

“And we’ll see if we can help Mr. Heckathorn find his way back to court,” Judge Thomas said, according to a report from KLCC.

He is accused of pouring bleach into one of four rearing tanks at the Gardiner, Reedsport, and Winchester Bay Salmon Trout Enhancement Program hatchery just off of the lower Umpqua in late April, killing 17,890 presmolts that were otherwise set to be adipose-fin clipped and released next month in support of Chinook fisheries in Winchester Bay and the river in the coming years.

It angered anglers far and wide, and a longtime Oregon game warden called it “one of the most senseless acts I have seen.”

Heckathorn faces charges of unlawful take of Chinook, a Class C felony given the number of fish involved, along with making a toxic substance available to wildlife, a Class A Misdemeanor, and first-degree criminal mischief, among other charges.

Douglas County Jail records describe him as 5-foot-11 and 230 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes.