# Arrests made in bear killing incident in Fannin



## Mechanicaldawg

Arrests made in bear killing incident in Fannin

Murray case still under investigation

From staff reports Dalton Daily Citizen

MURRAY COUNTY — State officials continue to investigate a Murray County bear kill despite the arrest last month of five Fannin County men believed involved with killing a female black bear with cubs. 

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources say the Murray County incident appears at this point to be unrelated to the Fannin County incident.  

The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation that started in Murray County on March 3 with the find of an illegally killed female black bear known to have at least two newly born cubs. On March 8 two black bear cubs were turned into a veterinarian’s office in McCaysville. Working from interviews and anonymous tips, DNR rangers interviewed three hog hunters, one of whom, Casey Crawford, admitted to killing a black bear on March 7 on private property along Stanley Gap Trail in Fannin County while hunting for hogs, the DNR said in a press release. The rangers carried out a search warrant on property rented by James E. Shields and Brian Walters, who were involved in removing parts of the dead female black bear and bringing the bear parts and the cubs to their home, according to the press release.

Charges include:

• Crawford, charged with hunting without permission, taking a bear out of season and theft by taking.

• Robert Perkins Jr., charged with hunting without permission and taking a bear out of season.

• Anthony White, charged with conspiracy.

• Shields, charged with possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, possession of freshly taken bear parts out of season, concealing the unlawful taking of wildlife, criminal trespass and theft by taking.

• Walters, charged with concealing the unlawful taking of wildlife, possession of freshly taken bear parts out of season, criminal trespass, tampering with evidence and theft by taken.

Anyone who has information regarding the illegal killing of the female black bear in Murray County or information of anyone in possession of black bear cubs is asked to contact Cpl. Casey Jones or Sgt. John Vanlandingham with the DNR at 1-800-241-4113 or the region office in Calhoun at (706) 624-1367.


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## JWilson

cool


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## Coastie

A good lick there!!


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## .50 cal. flinter

*arrests*

Hope they get the book thrown at them!


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## oliver 42

Good job


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## swamp_plotts

What idiots.  That's the kind of folks that need some good ole country --- whoopins.  Lot of money gone be spent on them cubs, cause they'll always remain in captivity being that they will be too accustomed to humans.  Sucks all the way around...


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## Coastie

Innocent until proven guilty is one thing, but even if it was a case of self defense the other charges would still be enough to trhow them under the jail if convicted.
 "concealing the unlawful taking of wildlife, possession of freshly taken bear parts out of season, criminal trespass, tampering with evidence and theft by taken"
"possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, tampering with evidence, possession of freshly taken bear parts out of season, concealing the unlawful taking of wildlife, criminal trespass and theft by taking."
"hunting without permission, taking a bear out of season and theft by taking." "conspiracy."

The investigation is apparently ongoing so additional charges may be pending or the existing charges ammended or dropped, but, if the investigation proves them to be guilty and it is proven in a court of law, then all of the above comments hold true.


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## sbrown

Rich Kaminski said:


> Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Right?
> First of all, you said they were hog hunters and therefore probably hog hunting either with or without dogs.
> If with dogs (a dog is a domestic animal) and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, she may have attached the dogs. Wouldn't that give the hunter the right to kill the bear?
> If hog hunting without dogs and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, wouldn't she go after the humans. Of course she would, thats what mother bears do. So maybe these guys killed a bear defending themselves, right? So lets allow this story to play itself out before we verbally convict anyone without the facts.


Don't know that it would give them the right to protect a dog...and if they were honestly protecting themselves, why not just report it....reportedly they took bear parts and the cubs??What about the weed and the convicted felon in posession of a gun?


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## Mechanicaldawg

They may have been just claiming to be 'hog hunters'.


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## swamp_plotts

Yep, prolly should have held my tongue, but it is very, very seldom that it would be appropiate to kill.  I would prolly do it too, but only in "extreme" circumstances.  The weed and felon don't really mean much, but most of the time it does.  If they were really hog huntin, and 'had' to kill the bear, then I hope they are aquited, but that's not very likely, in my opinion.  We are not convictin them, just a bunch of web-addicts with loose tongues! lol


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## germag

Rich Kaminski said:


> Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Right?
> First of all, you said they were hog hunters and therefore probably hog hunting either with or without dogs.
> If with dogs (a dog is a domestic animal) and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, she may have attached the dogs. Wouldn't that give the hunter the right to kill the bear?
> If hog hunting without dogs and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, wouldn't she go after the humans. Of course she would, thats what mother bears do. So maybe these guys killed a bear defending themselves, right? So lets allow this story to play itself out before we verbally convict anyone without the facts.



If that were the case, they would have stopped right there, called the DNR and said "We had to shoot this bear because we stumbled across her and she had cubs and was attacking. It was self-defense. Please come and investigate." They wouldn't have removed parts of the bear and taken the cubs and then tried to cover their tracks.

These guys were poachers from jump-street. Hunting without permission, possession of bear parts out of season, tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, concealing the taking of illegal wildlife.....yeah, they're poachers all right.


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## bullsprig1100

If they are guilty of these charges, and I do believe that justice will be served here by due process of the law, I am sure they will be hit hard for their actions. These are very serious charges, both for game and non-game related activities. Let justice takes its course, and allow the outcome to fit the crimes.


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## carpenter1

rich kaminski said:


> remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Right?
> First of all, you said they were hog hunters and therefore probably hog hunting either with or without dogs.
> If with dogs (a dog is a domestic animal) and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, she may have attached the dogs. Wouldn't that give the hunter the right to kill the bear?
> If hog hunting without dogs and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, wouldn't she go after the humans. Of course she would, thats what mother bears do. So maybe these guys killed a bear defending themselves, right? So lets allow this story to play itself out before we verbally convict anyone without the facts.


then they should have called dnr if they had nothing to hide


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## ATC

When I had to shoot and kill a gator in AL in self defense, I called the police who in turn called the game warden right away, all I was doing was fishing but was in gator territorry and have my concielment permit so I had my .357 on me.  There was another fisherman who witnessed the whole thing and the game warden even let me keep the gator afterwards.  
If these guys didn't have anything to hide, they should have called the DNR or police right aways because their actions make them look guilty as you know what!


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## Throwback

screen names?



T


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## Bitteroot

Throwback said:


> screen names?
> 
> 
> 
> T



Throwback... Jason4445... and BigSteve?


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## siberian1

Hope they get the book thrown at them!!!


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## GAranger1403

Please, these guys are as guilty as the night is dark! I guess if I kill a person, remove his internal organs, kidnap his kids, then conceal the crime I can comeback and say "It was self defense"! If you ain't got nothin to hide then you don't hide nothin! Besides they are hunting on property without permission to start with, everthing from that point on is a crime. Should not have even been there to start with! Hope these fellas get their hunting rights revoked for the long haul. Sounds like the kind of folks we do not need roaming our forest and using our resources. But, they are innocent until proven guilty!


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## GA DAWG

I HATE bears


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## Dana Young

me too
kill em all


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## Nugefan

Dana Young said:


> me too
> kill em all



when we goin' ....  

you will have me in your back pocket this bow season ....


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## Dana Young

It's up to you Andy I am ready when you are. we'll go today if you want. get an early start before the crouds if you know what I mean


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## DMH

my dad lives in blue ridge and the story he heard  was that they were in fact hog hunting and came across these bears in a den and shot the sow in the den and got the cubs and took them with them.  Either way you look at it that is just plain sorry!


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## Nugefan

Dana Young said:


> It's up to you Andy I am ready when you are. we'll go today if you want. get an early start before the crouds if you know what I mean



see ya on the mountain in the AM .....




I'll be up this season , my baby is off to college , I got a ton of huntin' to catch up on missin' these last few years ...


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## T.P.

Rich Kaminski said:


> Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Right?
> First of all, you said they were hog hunters and therefore probably hog hunting either with or without dogs.
> If with dogs (a dog is a domestic animal) and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, she may have attached the dogs. Wouldn't that give the hunter the right to kill the bear?
> If hog hunting without dogs and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, wouldn't she go after the humans. Of course she would, thats what mother bears do. So maybe these guys killed a bear defending themselves, right? So lets allow this story to play itself out before we verbally convict anyone without the facts.





Or, the dogs treed the bear and one of the guys said..... "hold my beer".



I'm sure it didn't happen this way though. Probably self-defense, and they took the body parts home a souveniers of the day that they whooped mother nature.


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## Dana Young

I hear ya Andy come every chance you get.


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## bowbuck

junior criminals at best. True hardened criminals would have killed the cubs too and walked away clean.  That conscience and stupidity got em in trouble.  By the way I hope they put them under the jail.  You can't fix stupid might as well fine it heavily.  Just can't believe all the ways stupid criminals get themselves in trouble.


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## littleman102475

germag said:


> If that were the case, they would have stopped right there, called the DNR and said "We had to shoot this bear because we stumbled across her and she had cubs and was attacking. It was self-defense. Please come and investigate." They wouldn't have removed parts of the bear and taken the cubs and then tried to cover their tracks.
> 
> These guys were poachers from jump-street. Hunting without permission, possession of bear parts out of season, tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, concealing the taking of illegal wildlife.....yeah, they're poachers all right.




i agree


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## seabolt

DMH said:


> my dad lives in blue ridge and the story he heard  was that they were in fact hog hunting and came across these bears in a den and shot the sow in the den and got the cubs and took them with them.  Either way you look at it that is just plain sorry!



yes the guys have just got in to hog hunting there dog bayed up they sent the pits in around 200 yrd and when they got there it was a bear and the boys had no gun on them just a knife and he went in and stabbed the sow be for it killed his dogs sounds brave to me he has more balls then me.whot would y'all do if u had a few thousand dollar getting wiped out just watch ????????????????????????  but if my dogs run a bear i well send it to some one that bear hunts but that's my opinion that's why i don't just hunt with int 1


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## sbrown

seabolt said:


> yes the guys have just got in to hog hunting there dog bayed up they sint the pits in a rond 200 yrd and when they got there it was a bear and the boys had no gun on them just a nife and he wint in and stabed the sow be for it killed his dogs sonds brave to me he has more balls then me.whot woud yall do if u had a few thound doller geting wiped out just watch ????????????????????????  but if my dogs run a bear i well sind it to some one that bear hunts but thats my apinon thats why i dont just hunt with inty 1


Are you serious?? It's already been said that one of them, a felon, was charged with possession of a gun. So , assume they left it at the truck....it was easier to kill a bear with a knife than just round up the dogs?


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## Throwback

seabolt said:


> yes the guys have just got in to hog hunting there dog bayed up they sint the pits in a rond 200 yrd and when they got there it was a bear and the boys had no gun on them just a nife and he wint in and stabed the sow be for it killed his dogs sonds brave to me he has more balls then me.whot woud yall do if u had a few thound doller geting wiped out just watch ????????????????????????  but if my dogs run a bear i well sind it to some one that bear hunts but thats my apinon thats why i dont just hunt with inty 1



What? 


T


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## LEON MANLEY

I was thinking spell check, (but it's not that good).


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## Mechanicaldawg

Throwback said:


> What?
> 
> 
> T



I would have loved to watch the expression on your face as you read that post.


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## Prorain

Ilook at it like this if my dogs are TRAINED to run hogs then that 's all they should run,if they are trained to run coon then that's all they should run......If they are running off game especialy a bear then the dogs get what they get.I am not gonna shoot a bear outta season w/o a tag period.If they are guilty they will get what they deserve in time.


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## seabolt

inty up to date on thise


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## bullsprig1100

Mechanicaldawg...You and I dont agree very often, but I am with you on this one.....I kept reading it over and over, until I understood what he was saying.....Are there any updates on this case?


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## seabolt

we will c what happens in a few weeks.the paper sad they had enuf to prosecute.we will c what happens.glad its not me


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## NEGA Hog Hunter

germag said:


> If that were the case, they would have stopped right there, called the DNR and said "We had to shoot this bear because we stumbled across her and she had cubs and was attacking. It was self-defense. Please come and investigate." They wouldn't have removed parts of the bear and taken the cubs and then tried to cover their tracks.
> 
> These guys were poachers from jump-street. Hunting without permission, possession of bear parts out of season, tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, concealing the taking of illegal wildlife.....yeah, they're poachers all right.


I remember not to long ago some guy posted a story about how he killed a bear to protect a family pet and wound up being charged for illegal kill . So knowing that i dont know that i would have reported it either , but i sure would not have taken any parts either. Remember this is only one side of the story and i will bet it was told onesided.


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## olcowman

Rich Kaminski said:


> Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Right?
> First of all, you said they were hog hunters and therefore probably hog hunting either with or without dogs.
> If with dogs (a dog is a domestic animal) and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, she may have attached the dogs. Wouldn't that give the hunter the right to kill the bear?
> If hog hunting without dogs and the mother bear felt that her cubs were threatened, wouldn't she go after the humans. Of course she would, thats what mother bears do. So maybe these guys killed a bear defending themselves, right? So lets allow this story to play itself out before we verbally convict anyone without the facts.



You been watching to much tv? These ain't grizzlies here in Ga... the sow will ususlly tree her cubs and try and lead you away at most. I guess if she and the cubs were somehow penned up with only one avenue of escape? It's possible I reckon? But black bears just ain't real aggressive, towards humans anyhow, and they generally avoid this sort of contact.

And who ever posted he climbed in the den and stabbed the sow to death to save his dog???? Bullbutter! I don't even think Davey Crockett ever told that bear killin' tale? That weed must've been some of that potent kind, or something?


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## bfriendly

AyMON! Con ya bleeve I mist dis tread

tSUP MON? Stik dat mama uh not?


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## seabolt

just got news that all charges was dropped.except harassment of  wild life.i guess the state did not wont to go to trail


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## ArktosAegis

seabolt said:


> just got news that all charges was dropped.except harassment of  wild life.i guess the state did not wont to go to trail



What a crock of crap.... those guys should have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law.... I have personal experience with a couple of those guys coming on my neighbors and my property without permission, hunting all hours of the night (out of season).  Like I said, I have had a personal experience on more than one occasion with Crawford himself.... His dogs baying all night long, him leaving/losing his dogs (some good hunting dogs eh!) only to call him to say that I have his (collar ID) dog and would he please come pick it up!  His explanation being “We were hunting Pigs…..must have got off on a bear” (again… good dogs eh!).  I have lived here for years and in all my hunting, hiking and general outdoor activities, I have yet to see any signs of a PIG…. EVER!!!  However, we do have a crap load of bears… and we know why he/they hunt our neighborhood! It’s like hunting at the Zoo! Quite frankly, about two months ago, they/he were back at it again.  Even with charges pending they were trespassing and hunting bear with dogs.  How do I know this, my neighbor fed and kenneled his dog this time for over a week.  Crawford was called twice to come retrieve his dog, however this time he never showed or even returned a phone call to inquire about his dog….. Here’s the sad part, the dog had been here so often we all knew her by name, Annabelle!  I suppose the reason he had such a lack of concern was because just about everyone that has been involved with this reported his activities to the DNR.  Maybe he thought it was some sort of setup, I can assure you this was not the case for Casey!
On another note, it’s people like this that give hunters such a bad rap!  No wonder the non hunting community has such a disdain for hunters.  This is the bull squeeze that makes the papers and the non hunters read this and are repulsed by it.  If anything, these guys should be ostracized by the hunting community and any post supporting them should be reexamined!


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## dadsbuckshot

seabolt said:


> just got news that all charges was dropped.except harassment of  wild life.i guess the state did not wont to go to trail



Why don't you go to the clerk of courts (for superior) office in Fannin County and ask to see the official charge disposition. They have to give it to you per open records act.

That way you can sort rumors from truth and fact from fiction - not just rely hearsay...


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## quackman




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## barehunter26

Had a friend of mine who works at the court house some check, and he says the case is still active.


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## Tennessee Buck

whatever !


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## simpleman30

Prorain said:


> Ilook at it like this if my dogs are TRAINED to run hogs then that 's all they should run,if they are trained to run coon then that's all they should run......If they are running off game especialy a bear then the dogs get what they get.I am not gonna shoot a bear outta season w/o a tag period.If they are guilty they will get what they deserve in time.



spoken like someone truly ignorant of raising a hound of any kind.  i don't care how good you think you are at training a hound, sometimes a dog will run game other than what YOU want it to run.  this holds true for rabbit beagles that run an occasional deer, deer hound that runs a hog or a coyote, or a hog dog that gets on a bear track.  regardless, it is no excuse for them killing a sow with cubs and then trying to cover up their actions.


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## TripleXBullies

dadsbuckshot said:


> Why don't you go to the clerk of courts (for superior) office in Fannin County and ask to see the official charge disposition. They have to give it to you per open records act.
> 
> That way you can sort rumors from truth and fact from fiction - not just rely hearsay...



HAHAHA.. Those county public records are a joke... Kept in a trailer and they can't find anything.


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## turkeyed

Any new info on these people?  Were they found guilty and if so what did they get?  I hope they were punished and this was not swept under the rug like a lot of game and fish violations are.


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## dadsbuckshot

TripleXBullies said:


> HAHAHA.. Those county public records are a joke... Kept in a trailer and they can't find anything.





bullsprig1100 said:


> If they are guilty of these charges, and I do believe that justice will be served here by due process of the law, I am sure they will be hit hard for their actions. These are very serious charges, both for game and non-game related activities. Let justice takes its course, and allow the outcome to fit the crimes.





siberian1 said:


> Hope they get the book thrown at them!!!





GAranger1403 said:


> Please, these guys are as guilty as the night is dark! I guess if I kill a person, remove his internal organs, kidnap his kids, then conceal the crime I can comeback and say "It was self defense"! If you ain't got nothin to hide then you don't hide nothin! Besides they are hunting on property without permission to start with, everthing from that point on is a crime. Should not have even been there to start with! Hope these fellas get their hunting rights revoked for the long haul. Sounds like the kind of folks we do not need roaming our forest and using our resources. But, they are innocent until proven guilty!





bowbuck said:


> junior criminals at best. True hardened criminals would have killed the cubs too and walked away clean.  That conscience and stupidity got em in trouble.  By the way I hope they put them under the jail.  You can't fix stupid might as well fine it heavily.  Just can't believe all the ways stupid criminals get themselves in trouble.





barehunter26 said:


> Had a friend of mine who works at the court house some check, and he says the case is still active.





Tennessee Buck said:


> whatever !





turkeyed said:


> Any new info on these people?  Were they found guilty and if so what did they get?  I hope they were punished and this was not swept under the rug like a lot of game and fish violations are.



So I am beginning to think that Fannin County is the place to go and hunt - it is a sportsmans paradise 24-7-365. If I want a turkey in December kill it - if I want a bear in March  it. Apparently there will be no penality or adverse actions and if there is, then I will not have to worry about having a "SPEEDY" Trial!!

Now someone correct me if I am wrong, and if there has been a disposition in this case - post up the details


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## stickflinger

Go to DNR website, click on enforcement, then click on L.E Reports. Read all about it.


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## specialk

stickflinger said:


> Go to DNR website, click on enforcement, then click on L.E Reports. Read all about it.



FANNIN COUNTY
Three of the five defendants that were arrested in connection with the illegal killing of a black bear and a newborn cub, and the removal of two addition new born cubs in March 2010 have pled guilty. The defendant that was suspected of having killed the bears pled guilty to hunting bears out of season and hunting on lands of another without permission, and the charge of possession of illegally taken wildlife was dismissed. The defendant who was with the suspected killer of the bears had the same three charges dead docketed upon twelve months of not being arrested for committing any other crime. One defendant charged with conspiracy in the taking of the bear cubs had the charge dismissed. One of the two defendants who had come to the kill scene and taken the bear meat, hide, and two live bear cubs pled guilty to possession of illegally taken wildlife, possession of freshly killed bear parts out of season, concealing the unlawful taking of wildlife, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, criminal trespass, and possession of marijuana. The second defendant who had come to the kill scene and taken the bear meat, hide, and two live bear cubs pled guilty to possession of freshly killed bear parts out of season, criminal trespass, and tampering with evidence. Charges of possession of illegally taken wildlife and concealment of illegally taken wildlife were dismissed.


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## barehunter26

What was the sentence?


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## rivercritter

theyve done nothing. no court no trial no fine no nothin.


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## bearhunter39

Yes they have ,i saw it in Chatsworth Times a few week's ago.


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## barehunter26

This is the story in GON's Hall of Shame this month.  The sentences seemed a little less than what I would have expected but I'm glad I don't have to pay them. LOL


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## turkeyed

Interesting read.  I feel they got o a little easy, but at least it wasn't swept under the table as some folks thought.


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## rivercritter

well my bad it took them long enuff. they wasted who knows how much time and money on this joke. someone kills a bear illegaly and they waste a million dollars in resources 2 catch them then fine them a couple thousand at the most. i luv it. mean while someone stole a gun out of my truck the other day wonder if theyll help find it haha i bet they used the paper on my report for toliet paper. everyone knows where im goin with this sorry just had 2 vent a minute.


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## ridgerunner83

GAranger1403 said:


> Please, these guys are as guilty as the night is dark! I guess if I kill a person, remove his internal organs, kidnap his kids, then conceal the crime I can comeback and say "It was self defense"! If you ain't got nothin to hide then you don't hide nothin! Besides they are hunting on property without permission to start with, everthing from that point on is a crime. Should not have even been there to start with! Hope these fellas get their hunting rights revoked for the long haul. Sounds like the kind of folks we do not need roaming our forest and using our resources. But, they are innocent until proven guilty!






I couldn't have said it better myself


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## Tomboy Boots

rivercritter said:


> well my bad it took them long enuff. they wasted who knows how much time and money on this joke. someone kills a bear illegaly and they waste a million dollars in resources 2 catch them then fine them a couple thousand at the most. i luv it. mean while someone stole a gun out of my truck the other day wonder if theyll help find it haha i bet they used the paper on my report for toliet paper. everyone knows where im goin with this sorry just had 2 vent a minute.



Your opinion of law enforcement is extremely obvious but I doubt that it is completely justified. I also doubt they spent or wasted a million dollars in resources to catch these suspects. Most law enforcement officers are getting paid the same regardless of whether they are investigating a crime or not. You think the time they spent investigating and prosecuting this case was wasted? Almost all crimes that are prosecuted take a while before they actually go to court. That is because there are many cases and they are all on a calendar. You don't just get charged with a crime and next week you are found guilty or innocent. As far as the gun stolen out of your truck... if you had a serial number for the gun it will be returned to you if it shows up in a pawn shop or is recovered in the future.


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## Killer Kyle

Haha...@ Nugefan.  I agree.  I want Dana to be my sensai.  I TRIED to kill em' all but came up empty handed.  Teach me oh great one.  Bear Whisperer.  Grandfather Bear Dana Young!  haha.  Speaking of Dana....How's the knee Dana??


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