An 80-year-old Montana man was sentenced to prison last week after he admitted to killing a grizzly bear and tampering with evidence. Othel Lee Pearson pleaded guilty to the charges back in February after shooting a grizzly bear on his property in 2020, failing to report the shooting as required, and throwing the bear’s GPS collar into the Yaak River, according to KPAX News. 

Pearson was sentenced to two months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $10,000. He will also be required to serve four months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. Along with the jail sentence and fine, Pearson also had to forfeit a .270 Winchester bolt-action rifle and scope that he used to shoot the bear. 

According to court documents, Pearson shot the sow grizzly bear on Nov. 19, 2020, using the .270 rifle. He cut paws, ear tags, and the bear’s identifying lip tattoo from the carcass and “concealed the bear’s claws and an ear tag on U.S. Forest Service [land] near his home.” The GPS collar was cut and tossed into the Yaak River.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service completed the investigation.