2014 youth poaching ring case comes to close

2014 youth poaching ring case comes to close

Daily Inter Lake

The final person involved in a series of poaching incidents in 2013 and 2014 has been sentenced, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The state wildlife agency did not name the poacher or the misdemeanors of which he was convicted, citing his age at the time of the incidents.

According to a Monday press release, the Nov. 1 sentencing in Flathead County Justice Court capped off the prosecution of nine individuals who illegally shot 15 deer and an elk. The majority of the suspects were high school students under the age of 18 at the time of the incident.

The violations included hunting game animals during a closed season, using artificial light, wasting game and unlawfully possessing game animals. The release stated that the majority of the animals were shot and killed in the Flathead Valley using headlights and/or spotlights at night during summer and fall months outside the general hunting season. The cow elk was illegally killed at Lost Trail Wildlife Refuge.

In all, the individuals involved in the poaching case were sentenced to $16,425 in fines and restitution and lost a combined 47 years of hunting, fishing and trapping privileges. The latest sentence included a $1,200 fine and the suspension of his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for three years, according to agency spokesman John Fraley.

“It was very disappointing to see this level of poaching following so closely after several other high-profile poaching cases in the Flathead Valley where multiple deer were shot at night and left to waste,” regional game warden captain Lee Anderson stated in the press release. “Hopefully this will help deter other people from violating the law.”