Posted on 03/24/2004 5:44:49 AM PST by PeteFromMontana
Justice of the Peace David Ortley had harsh words for a Kalispell man who was sentenced Tuesday for poaching a trophy bull moose last November.
"There are people who are born and raised here who can go through their whole lives without an opportunity to legally hunt a moose like this," Ortley told Frank Wayne Campbell.
Campbell, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of killing a bull moose without a license or a permit and one count of possessing an unlawfully taken moose. Those misdemeanors came on top of Campbell's guilty plea last week to felony driving under the influence.
Ortley told Campbell the moose had a 44 1/2-inch antler spread, a trophy trait that has been lost "as a result of your conduct, which is quite frankly disgusting."
But Ortley said he would "look forward rather than backward" in sentencing Campbell, who has a wife and children to support once he's out of jail.
On the poaching charge, Ortley sentenced Campbell to six months in the county jail, time that must be served before he can move to his 13-month DUI sentence with the Montana Department of Corrections.
He was fined $1,035 for poaching ($2,000 was suspended) and his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges were suspended for 20 years.
On the possession charge, Ortley deferred a six-month sentence for two years and fined Campbell $535, suspending $2,500 in fines.
"I have every intention of hanging onto this case for as long as I can," said Ortley, warning that he would revoke the deferred sentence if Campbell does not pay his fines or fails to remain law-abiding over the next two years.
"I have every intention of you serving the full six months if you do not comply."
Campbell also must pay $6,000 in restitution for the moose, a condition that does not have to be met within two years, and he must read two hunting ethics books and provide the judge with a book report.
If Campbell complies with the sentence and stays out of trouble, he can petition the court to restore his hunting and fishing privileges in 10 years.
There was a plea agreement with the county attorney's office that was somewhat more favorable to Campbell, who was originally charged with killing two bull moose.
That agreement, for instance, proposed that Campbell's hunting and fishing privileges be suspended for 10 years.
But Ortley advised Campbell prior to Tuesday's proceedings that he would not follow the plea agreement in sentencing.
On Nov. 5, 2003, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Brian Sommers stopped Campbell north of Ashley Lake. Campbell had a bull moose carcass in the back of his pickup truck. Campbell didn't have a permit for the moose.
After investigating the area where the moose had been shot, Sommers located the carcass of another moose within 70 yards, said Tim Wenz, deputy Flathead County attorney.
"It was just as part of the plea agreement those charges were dismissed," Wenz said, referring to the second moose.
After citing Campbell, Somers contacted the Flathead County Sheriff's Office because he suspected Campbell had been drinking. Deputies stopped Campbell on Batavia Lane and Kienas Road west of Kalispell and arrested him for DUI.
It was a felony charge because Campbell has been convicted of three previous DUIs.
He has been in the county jail since Nov. 6; that time will be credited against the six-month sentence he received Tuesday.
Tommy Chong sold a bong big enough to smoke a moose but the feds seized it when they raided his company.
Poachers on the other hand should be shot. Some guys trudging through your ranch with rifles shooting at anything that moves basically deserve what they get. Especially if you have family in the ranch.
This would work in NY, NJ, MA, CT, RI, CA, DE and MD EXCEPT the perpetrator used a (horrors) gun. Then they let him go on the poaching charge, but charge him with the most evil thing a person can do (in those jurisdictions anyway) a gun crime.
And of course, the "normal" sentence of a book report LOL
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