A Fresno, Calif., man was sentenced last week to 10 years probation. 120 days in jail and more than $36,000 in fines for animal wasting near Warren in the fall of 2004.
Fourth District Judge Thomas Neville sentenced Brian Boyd, 38, during a hearing last Thursday at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade.
Boyd had previously pleaded guilty to killing, three mule deer and two red fox and leaving the carcasses to rot. He was also previously convicted of felony drug charges in California.
Neville suspended $15,000 of the fines, but imposed a lifetime suspension of hunting privileges on Boyd, who was told he could not visit Internet sites featuring hunting or fishing.
"It's outrageous! There's no other way to say it, you have a basic lack of respect for the resource," Neville told Boyd during the hearing.
"You pass yourself as an inexperienced hunter, and attempt to portray yourself as something different than some of the evidence shows," Neville said.
"Idaho Fish and Game calls this one of the most egregious cases in Idaho history," Valley County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Brockmann said. "He's destroyed valuable wildlife that belongs to the state of Idaho. His whole story is permeated with lies."
Boyd said he was an inexperienced hunter, afraid of wolves and that he might be stuck in the Warren area over winter if he did not leave his campsite.
He also said his back was hurting when he decided to leave the campsite with the deer and fox carcasses.
"I now realize this was a disaster," Boyd said. "I didn't respect just how difficult these outdoor activities are."
Suspect cites wolves
F&G investigators looked into his claim that his campsite was surrounded by wolves and found no tracks. Boyd said he saw glowing eyes in the forest circling his campsite.
"He said the circle kept getting smaller just like in the movies and he had to shoot his way out," said F&G Senior Conservation Officer Kevin Primrose. "It's one of those classic quotes."
"There was a killing spree going on here," Brockmann said. "His story about the wolves is unsubstantiated."
Boyd said he shot the fox because they were "chewing on the deer."
Primrose, who made the case against Boyd, was pleased with the sentence.
"I think it's awesome," Primrose said. "It sends a resounding message to any felons out there who aren't supposed to be in possession of a gun in this part of the state."
"It shows our local (judges) and our prosecuting office have a deep care for wildlife, which you don't always see," he said.
Primrose had talked to Boyd during a routine check in 2004. A couple of days later Primrose was back in the area and checked the campsite after Boyd had left and found the carcasses.
Primrose said the case could not have been made without the work of the F&G DNA and Forensics Lab in Caldwell.
The lab matched up blood and hair samples found by officers in California in Boyd's truck to two of the deer at Boyd's campsite, he said.
