A Colorado man has been sentenced for unlawfully taking an under-sized Dall sheep in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in 2008.
Anchorage, Alaska- U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that Thomas M. McGann, 58, of Longmont, Colorado, was sentenced today in the U.S. District Court in Fairbanks for transporting an unlawfully taken Dall sheep.
McGann pled guilty today and was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott A. Oravec in Fairbanks on a charge that he transported a Dall sheep he had killed illegally. The court ordered McGann to pay a $10,000 fine, forfeit the sheep, and not engage in hunting for one year.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case, McGann’s Plea Agreement included the facts he admitted to in support of the charges. These facts showed that McGann’s guide advised McGann to shoot the sheep while mistakenly believing it was of legal size.
After the kill, they saw that one horn was broken and the other unbroken horn was less than the required minimum of one full curl in length. McGann’s master guide-outfitter, Joe Hendricks, altered the unbroken horn by hammering it with a rock to obscure the fact that it was less than the legal minimum size.
McGann, knowing that this alteration had been done, transported the sheep to Fairbanks and presented it for the required Fish and Game inspection. The sheep passed inspection. McGann later denied he knew the horn had been altered, but other evidence showed he was aware of the illegal alteration before he presented the horns for inspection.
McGann later admitted he knew that the horn had been altered before the inspection. McGann acknowledged that Master Guide Joe Hendricks advised him to destroy any kill site photos to conceal the alteration of the horn. McGann declined to destroy his photos, which showed the sheep before Hendricks broke the horn, and showed the sheep was undersize.
McGann’s master guide-outfitter, Joe Hendricks, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Fairbanks on August 24, 2012, to pay a fine of $125,000 and was restricted from hunting and guiding for five years.
Related Federal Cases
- Robert Thomas, Convicted Felon in Possession of Firearm, West Virginia 2023 · Alaska
- Richard Charles Thomas Jr., Methamphetamine Possession with Intent to Distribute, California 2020 · Florida
- Richard Charles Thomas Jr., Methamphetamine Possession with Intent to Distribute, California 2020 · Florida
- Thomas Encil Blake, Child Pornography Production and Receipt, Michigan 2023 · Alaska
- Frederick Martin, Flight Disappearance, Alaska 1924 · Alaska
Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: Wildlife Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Wildlife CrimesWildlife CrimesWildlife CrimesWildlife Crimes