Photo credit: AI-generated image created using ChatGPT. Illustrative only
A trail camera doesn’t care who you are, how long you’ve lived on a road, or whether you “always hunt back there.” It just records what it sees. And in Waco, that’s exactly what kicked off a case that ended with two arrests after a camera on Baylor University property captured a man in coveralls holding a rifle.
Details laid out in the original post describe how Texas Game Warden Michael Serbanic received the image from a game camera set on Baylor land near Garden and Donaldson Drive. That one photo turned into a coordinated response, and it didn’t take long for wardens and other units to start closing the distance.
A game camera photo put a face to the problem
According to an affidavit, the camera image showed a white man in coveralls holding a rifle on Baylor property. For landowners and hunters alike, this is the part worth paying attention to: a clear, time-stamped picture doesn’t leave much room for “wrong place” excuses.
Serbanic responded with additional units, including Warden Delgado. They arrived around 3:30 p.m., and a McLennan County Sheriff’s Office deputy used a drone to get a thermal image of a suspect near the camera location while officers set up around the property.
Neighbors and a quick ID narrowed it down fast
Once officers had the photo, they took it to a nearby resident on Donaldson Lane. That resident identified the man as William Strasser and pointed officers toward his home down the street, according to the affidavit.
Delgado then located and detained Strasser. That’s another practical lesson in real life: when you’re hunting close to homes and roadways, you’re not invisible. Folks know who belongs in an area and who doesn’t—especially when a rifle is involved.
A hidden, loaded rifle raised the stakes
Authorities said Strasser admitted to hunting deer without permission on Baylor property. He also offered to show officers where he’d hidden his rifle, which is the kind of detail that tends to change the tone of an encounter in a hurry.
Investigators said Strasser led them to an abandoned vehicle near the property off Donaldson Lane. A loaded .30-06 rifle was reportedly hidden under items in the back seat. Baylor police confirmed Strasser did not have permission to hunt on the property or to enter it with a firearm, and a Baylor officer signed a non-consent form.
Strasser was booked into the McLennan County Jail on charges of hunting without landowner consent and criminal trespass with a firearm.
A separate incident brought a second hunter into the case
The affidavit also describes an additional occurrence of hunting without consent on Nov. 28 involving Caleb Donaldson. During questioning, Strasser reportedly told officers that two days earlier he and Donaldson had gone deer hunting together on Baylor property, and that Donaldson shot a doe with a .30-30 rifle.
Strasser told officers Donaldson drove his pickup down, they loaded the deer, and it ended up in Donaldson’s freezer. If you’ve been around enough deer camps, you know how casual that kind of talk can sound—until it’s tied to a place you had no right to hunt.
Deer remains, ammo in a truck, and conflicting stories
Officers went to Donaldson’s residence on Donaldson Lane, where he admitted to having the deer carcass but claimed it had been shot by Strasser, according to police. Donaldson then led officers to the backyard, where the deer’s head and carcass were reportedly hidden in a bucket, and he admitted the meat was stored in his freezer.
Donaldson’s father told investigators both suspects left the house in camouflage gear with rifles shortly before the Nov. 28 incident, and said his son was the one who shot the deer. He also told investigators he provided a .30-30 rifle to Donaldson that day while Strasser carried a .30-06 rifle, according to the affidavit.
Donaldson, for his part, reportedly admitted he helped Strasser transport the deer from the field using his white truck and admitted to processing it and keeping the meat in his freezer. But he denied shooting the deer and said he only helped transport and process it.
During a search of Donaldson’s truck, officers found .30-30 ammunition on the driver’s side along with 9mm and .22 ammunition, police said. They also noted what appeared to be deer blood and hair on the back of the vehicle. Donaldson was arrested as well.
What hunters and landowners should take from this
This is the kind of case that reminds everyone why permission is more than a handshake detail—it’s the whole ballgame. If you don’t have clear consent, you’re not “hunting,” you’re trespassing. And when there’s a firearm involved, it becomes a safety problem for anyone living nearby, not just a rulebook issue.
On the landowner side, documentation matters. Cameras, dates, and a clear non-consent stance give wardens something solid to work with, instead of rumors and secondhand accusations. On the hunter side, the fix is simple and old-school: know exactly whose dirt you’re on, get permission, and if you can’t get it, go somewhere you can hunt legally.
Because once a trail cam catches you and wardens start stacking up around a property, there’s not much left to debate.
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