Moore Resident Convicted of Cattle Trespass
POCATELLO – Following a one-day trial in July, U.S. Magistrate Judge Larry M. Boyle yesterday found Lawrence Babcock, 71, of Moore, Idaho, guilty of knowingly allowing his cattle to graze on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands without a permit, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
Judge Boyle took the case under advisement in July and issued a ten-page written decision yesterday, finding Babcock guilty of grazing cattle on BLM land between July 6 and August 23, 2010. During the trial, Judge Boyle heard evidence that Babcock had been issued grazing permits by the BLM several years ago, but the permits had been revoked in 2002 for violations of the terms. Babcock continued to graze his cattle on BLM land without a permit. He admitted to an investigator that during the time frame charged, he had seventy-eight head of cattle grazing on BLM land.
Babcock faces a maximum sentence of one-year probation and a $5,000 fine.
Sentencing is scheduled for December 1, 2011, before Judge Boyle at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Land Management.
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