http://www.denverpost.com/2016...in-lions-sentencing/



Outfitter sentenced in illegal hunting of bobcats and mountain lions


By KIRK MITCHELL | kmitchell@denverpost.com
PUBLISHED: September 6, 2016 at 12:22 pm | UPDATED: September 6, 2016 at 3:34 pm



A Grand Junction man who helped arrange illegal bobcat and mountain lion hunts in Utah and Colorado in which outfitters shot the animals in the paw or put radio transmitters on their necks to guarantee success was sentenced Tuesday to three months in prison.

Nathan Simms of Grand Junction was also sentenced in U.S. Federal Court in Grand Junction to two years of probation and must serve six months of that sentence in home detention.

Simms had pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanor counts of illegal game hunting and agreed to serve six months in a federal prison.

Christopher Loncarich, the owner of the now-defunct outfitting business that employed Simms, is serving a 27-month sentence in federal prison.

The outfitters would trap and maim mountain lions to make it easier for hunting customers to kill the animals. The outfitters also placed radio transmitters on the big cats to make it easy to track them, court documents show.

In one instance, the outfitters placed a leg-hold trap on a mountain lion’s paw to slow it down. On another occasion, the outfitters shot a mountain lion in the paw to make it easier to track.

Simms acted as an assistant guide between 2007 and 2010, helping hunters from Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Connecticut kill mountain lions.

Officials say hunters paid up to $7,500 for the hunting tours.

Sounds to me that they got off light. Deplorable behavior.

At least one SOB got sent to prison. Hopefully they lost their hunting rights also.

So damn many shady scumbags in the world.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Sounds to me that they got off light. Deplorable behavior.

I would disagree. I think this is a case of poetic justice. They maimed animals to make them easier prey. Their prison cells are not going to offer much escape when the locals come knocking . Probably a lot of this .

Perry

Throw away the key!

You've got to wonder if the "hunters" were aware of this. Kinda hard not to be especially if there's a trap on the foot,, a bullet hole in the paw or a radio transmitter on the cat.

Unfortunately many "Clients" could care less as to what means are used to guarantee their success. So many have absolutely no respect at all for the game. So they will look the other way as long as they succeed in their....hunt.... Of course there are a few outfitters that will be more than happy to cater to these....killers....

quote:

Originally posted by leemar28:
Unfortunately many "Clients" could care less as to what means are used to guarantee their success. So many have absolutely no respect at all for the game. So they will look the other way as long as they succeed in their....hunt.... Of course there are a few outfitters that will be more than happy to cater to these....killers....

i wouldn't be surprised if some clients were taken on the "gee this one is wounded lets track him and do a good deed" not knowing that the guide was the reason the cat was wounded in the first place

All ways a possibility......

quote:

Originally posted by perry:

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Sounds to me that they got off light. Deplorable behavior.

I would disagree. I think this is a case of poetic justice. They maimed animals to make them easier prey. Their prison cells are not going to offer much escape when the locals come knocking . Probably a lot of this .

Perry

6 & 27 months respectively. Doesn't seem very long to me especially since these are federal prisons are will probably only serve about half.

3 months of Federal prison...no thank you!!!

Perry

Since when do criminals "agree to prison terms???" Lock their asses up, or hang 'em by the balls til they rot off and drop 'em!

George

Get a rope.

They agree to prison terms when plea bargains
are offered.

quote:

Originally posted by perry:
3 months of Federal prison...no thank you!!!

Perry

From what I understand, Federal prisons are not as bad as state prisons.

Personally, I do not want a minute in either.

I remember a long time ago in Arizona, a guide by the name of Curtis Prock made quite a living using trapped mountain lions. He was given a rather stiff sentence if I remember right. You'd think a person who could afford such a hunt would be smart enough to observe things that don't seem right. Years ago in Colorado I had a bear guide try illegal hunting methods on me. I took photos, turned him in, testified and hung his ass. I have zero tolerance for these outfitters. I probably should retract the statement about observation. That assumes having common sense. That seems to have gone out the window these days.

http://www.huntingreport.com/h..._details.cfm?id=3291



This was from the Hunting Report,March 2014.



A Call to Fellow Hunters Affected by Outfitter Chris Loncarich's Indictment

Published: March - 2014

Shortly after going to press with February issue of The Hunting Report, we heard from a subscriber (who wishes to remain anonymous) who had been interviewed during the Chris Loncarich investigation. This subscriber had been interviewed by US Fish and Wildlife agents. He had been told he was being interviewed as a potential witness and, he, as he put it, "talked freely and offered the government any help he could deliver." At the end of that interview, he was told by the agents that he was "criminally culpable" for his actions. His trophy was confiscated, and he has not heard anything more since. With Loncarich now charged on 17 counts, including several felonies, this subscriber is waiting for the sword to fall on him.
He had been told that more than 40 hunters were interviewed during the investigation and he wonders if any other subscribers are in his situation and would be interested in sharing information and, perhaps, legal strategies and counsel should charges be pressed. If you were somehow caught up in the Loncarich debacle and wish to contact others in the same situation, please send us your contact information and we will forward it.