Two Columbus YouTubers who built an audience around their outdoor adventures have been sentenced after a years-long investigation found they illegally hunted deer across Central Ohio.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, William Bethel, 28, and Justin Booth, 23, who operated the YouTube channel Creek Kings Outdoors, documented hunting trips over a five-year period while allegedly poaching deer in places they weren’t allowed to hunt, including Three Creeks Metro Park.
Investigators say the pair claimed several of the deer featured on their channel had been harvested in Kentucky. A year-long investigation by ODNR and Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks officers determined the animals were actually taken illegally in Ohio.
The two men were originally charged in September 2025 and each pleaded guilty earlier this year to 20 wildlife-related offenses. The charges included hunting without permission, hunting deer without permits, criminal trespassing, possessing illegally taken deer, failing to game check harvested deer, and other wildlife violations.
The consequences are steep.
Together, Bethel and Booth were ordered to pay more than $29,000 in restitution and more than $7,800 in fines, serve nine days in jail, and complete five years of reporting probation.
They also lost their hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for the next five years and are temporarily banned from Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks properties.
