Tuesday, August 21, 2018

News 12 at 6 O'Clock

LINCOLN COUNTY, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The taxidermist who did this work is behind bars, facing a Rico charge. That's racketeering. Prosecutors say they found a pattern of theft.

Matt Adcock turned himself in Tuesday, just less than two weeks after our I-Team uncovered dozens of complaints he took their money but didn't do the work

"I haven't stolen anything from anybody and don't plan to," Adcock told News 12 in that initial interview weeks ago.

According to a warrant, Adcock didn’t just steal. He established a pattern over the last two years of accepting deposit but failing to do the taxidermy work. The warrant states he took money from 50 people, totally nearly $10,000.

Jason Nightingale is one of those people. He's been waiting over a year to get his fish back. He says Adcock sent him this picture when he started pressing him about it.

"I don’t even know what it was. He pained like a striper but I couldn't tell you if it’s an actual striper or not. He put the wrong colored eyes in it," said Nightingale.

The incident report states the Department of Natural Resources conducted a records check earlier this month. According to the report, they found multiple violations for improper records and improperly tagged animals, some of which were just haphazardly thrown into the coolers.

Adcock is waiting for a bond hearing.

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018

News 12 @ 6 O'clock / NBC 26 at 7

WASHINGTON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - At least fifty people have now contacted the Lincoln County sheriff's office after our I-Team investigation into a local taxidermist.

The complaints range from receiving the wrong mount to getting a shoddy mount to not getting their mount back at all. Many of those complaints come from customers living in Richmond County, Columbia Columbia, Burke County and Aiken County.

Exotic animals, from all over the world, seem to come to life inside Lloyd Johnson's home. "If a country ends in "stan" they got really good goat and sheep," the retired Master Taxidermist joked. Johnson has spent nearly thirty years in the field and has mounted more than three thousand animals.

Liz Owens: "What's the difference between you and someone who just has a license in Georgia?"

Lloyd Johnson: "Well, I have two years of college of taxidermy taught by other master taxidermists. I've competed extensively and won about 170 awards."

Johnson knows exactly what a mount means to a sportsman. "When someone wants something mounted it means something to them. It could be a kid's first fish. You can't ever catch another first fish," he said.

It wasn't Jason Nightingale's first fish but it was his biggest. "This is going to be my first true wall mount. I finally caught my trophy," the fisherman said. "I don't even know what it was. He painted it like a striper but I couldn't tell you if it's an actual striper or not. He put the wrong colored eyes in it." Nightingale is one of fifty customers to complain about Lakeside Taxidermy.

"Whether it is the lack of skill, the lack of training, or its intentional misrepresentation of what you do it's not good. Because the public will have the perception that taxidermists are crooked and do really lousy work and cheat people out of their fish," Johnson said.

There is no training requirement to get a taxidermy license in Georgia. All you got to do is pay the application fee. In South Carolina, there is no such thing as a taxidermy license.

Liz Owens: "Should there be stricter regulations or oversite with taxidermist?"

Lloyd Johnson: "I don't really think. It's up to the public to go check out something before they get something."

He says you should always check out the taxidermists' work and shop in person.

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is still investigating Lakeside Taxidermy. The owner told us has not done anything wrong. He just fell behind in work due to falling on hard times.

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018

News 12 @ 6 O'clock / NBC 26 at 7

AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Investigators believe something fishy is going on with a local taxidermist after receiving more than forty complaints about him. The complaints range shoddy mounts to never getting their mounts to getting even the wrong mount. The owner of Lakeside Taxidermy told our I-Team he isn't scamming anyone. He said he is just behind at work.

Fishing isn't a pastime. Fishing is a way of life for Jason Nightingale. He's spent many years trying to hook that once in a lifetime catch. "Soon as my lure hit the water it grabbed it and ran almost all my line off my fishing pole," Nightingale told our I-Team's, Liz Owens. It took him thirty minutes to reel in the monster of a fish. "This is going to be my first true wall mount. I finally caught my trophy."

Nightingale saw a deal on Facebook for Lakeside Taxidermy. "I paid in full. upfront cash only. He didn't take credit card or check," he said. That was April of last year. The Owner of Lakeside Taxidermy told him he would have his fish back by October, nearly a year ago. "I kept getting the same run around story. I am still on deer heads or I'm still on ducks. I'll be on fish in a couple weeks I promise. I promise," he remembered.

Nightingale said the owner's stories weren't the only things that seemed fishy. The taxidermist sent him a picture of his finished mount a few weeks ago. "I don't even know what it was. He painted like a striper but I couldn't tell you if it's an actual striper or not. He put the wrong colored eyes in it."

Our I-Team learned Nightingale isn't the only person to complain. Jamie Jones said her deer mount was either leaking glue or blood when she picked it up from Lakeside.

Other people complained about not getting their mounts at all.

Liz Owens: "Are you scamming people?"

Matt Adcock: "No, not at all. Absolutely not."

Matt Adcock says his turn around time is a little longer than other taxidermists. "We do everything in batches we do a batch of deer a batch of fish a batch of ducks If you bring your duck right before we do a batch of ducks then your duck is going to be in that batch. If you bring your duck right after we do a batch of ducks then you are going to have to wait a lot longer than the guy who brought the duck when we just did a batch," he told our Liz Owens.

Adcock says a fire a few years ago destroyed customer files as well. Also, his wife is no longer working in the shop so his workload has doubled. He says he has about three hundred animals he needs to mount in his shop. Our I-Team asked to go into the shop but he said no. "We aren't scamming anyone. By any means, if anybody wants to pick up anything if they are tired of waiting they can call or message me," Adcock said.

Customers are calling but they're calling the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Investigators say more than forty people have called them about Lakeside Taxidermy over the last few days. Last week, investigators with The Department of Natural Resources paid a visit to Lakeside Taxidermy.

Liz Owens: "Did they find any violations?"

Matt Adcock: "They found a few ducks that weren't tagged properly."

He says he hasn't done anything criminal. "I haven't stolen anything from anybody and don't plan to." Our I-Team found Adcock was charged with theft just a few weeks ago for allegedly stealing chicken coops and then trying to sell them.

"Honestly, I want my fish back. There is no telling where it is or if he has it. That's a once in a lifetime fish I will never get it back," Nightingale said.

Adcock is asking customers to call him with any concerns. He said he would return their animals. The number for Lakeside Taxidermy is (470) 235-9219.

Lincoln County Sheriff's investigators are also asking customers to contact them if they believe they were wronged. Their number is (706) 359-4118.