A Toston man was sentenced last week in Townsend for felony possession of an unlawfully taken bighorn sheep. District Court Judge Dorothy McCarter placed 39 year-old David Arnold Liefert on felony probation for five years, and ordered him to pay $30,000 in restitution to the state. Additionally, Liefert will forfeit his Montana hunting and fishing privileges for three years. In January of 2000, the head of a male big horn sheep was discovered in an abandoned building outside of Radersburg. The animal was identified as one of several recently released in the Crow Creek drainage of the Elkhorn Mountains. No sheep hunting season currently exists in the Elkhorns. State Game Wardens Chris Anderson and Chad Murphy conducted an investigation, following a series of leads as well as information supplied through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks violation hotline, TIP-MONT led to Liefert. The Montana Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) offered a $1000 reward in addition to up to $1000 reward offered by TIP-MONT for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for killing the ram. Broadwater County Attorney John Flynn prosecuted the case in District Court. The law under which this case was tried was passed by the 1999 Montana Legislature to address the unlawful and willful taking of trophy class big game animals. The restitution amount was set in statute. In this case, the sheeps horns exceeded This is a classic example of how the public can and does take a front line role in the protection of our resources," said Warden Captain Jim Kropp. Often, there are no witnesses to wildlife crimes. We then have to rely heavily on other sources of information. It was with the help of Montanans, outraged at what had taken place, that this individual was ultimately brought to justice." Kropp continued, This has shown once again that Montanans will not tolerate senseless acts of wildlife vandalism, wanton waste and the killing of game animals for personal gain."
Recent News
