Spencer Man Sentenced For Unlawful Taking Of Wildlife

United  States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Spencer, South Dakota, man convicted of Unlawful Taking of Wildlife was sentenced on March 3, 2014, by U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Simko.

Dennis L. Rowley, age 63, was sentenced to 3 years of probation. His sentence also included a $3,000 fine, $3,050 restitution, and the loss of hunting privileges for 3 years.

An information was filed against Rowley on July 24, 2013, charging him with Unlawful Taking of Wildlife. He was found guilty of the charge at a trial held on January 27, 2014, before the Honorable Judge Simko.

In June of 2012, a person taking photographs of Double-crested Cormorants nesting on an island on a lake near Spencer called the South Dakota T.I.P.S. Hotline to report a person shooting the cormorants. Conservation officers with the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department learned that the shooter was Dennis Rowley. They went to the island and found 61 dead cormorants.

This case was investigated by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.