Men Sentenced For Illegal Hunting In Kansas
WICHITA KAN. – Three men have pleaded guilty and been sentenced for illegal deer hunting in Kansas, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
On Monday, Bert Stelly, 57, Arnaudville, La., Ryan Pinkston, 31, Center, Tex., and Tim Metcalf, 50, Lafayette, La., each pleaded guilty to federal misdemeanor charges of interstate transportation of wildlife taken in violation of state law.
Stelly was sentenced to two years on probation during which he will not be allowed to hunt, trap, guide or be with anyone engaged in those activities. He also was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. In his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 1, 2006, he paid $3,500 for a guided whitetail deer hunt in Comanche County, Kan. He took a deer without a valid license and he failed to properly tag the deer. The deer was illegally transported to Texas.
Pinkston was sentenced to two years on probation during which he will not be allowed to hunt, trap, guide or be with anyone engaged in those activities. He also was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and $5,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. In his plea, he admitted that on Sept. 1, 2006, he paid $3,500 for a guided whitetail deer hunt in Comanche County, Kan. He took a deer without a valid license and he failed to properly tag the deer. The deer was illegally transported to Texas.
Metcalf was sentenced to one year on probation during which he will not be allowed to hunt, trap, guide or be with anyone engaged in those activities. He also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $2,500 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. In his plea, he admitted that on Oct. 1, 2006, he paid $3,500 for a guided whitetail deer hunt in Comanche County, Kan. He took a deer without a valid license and he failed to properly tag the deer. The deer was illegally transported to Texas.
The three men were customers of a hunting camp in Comanche County, Kan., run by James Bobby Butler. Butler was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for violating the federal Lacey Act.
So far, 25 out of 30 defendants in the case have been sentenced.
Grissom commended the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Environmental Crimes Section of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster for their work on the case.
