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May 3, 2003
Pride in trophy elk brings fine, charges
HELENA (AP) -- A Cut Bank man has lost his hunting privileges, drawn a whopping fine and is facing more criminal charges, all because he couldn't resist boasting about the six-point trophy elk he killed last fall.
A photo of Gary Motarie and his prize elk appeared last November in his hometown newspaper, the Western Breeze, and some local residents suspected that he didn't kill it where he claimed.
They called the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks hotline, 1-800-TIP-MONT.
Game warden Sgt. Gary Benson and others used the modern science of DNA, standard police work and old-fashioned tracking skills to prove that Motarie killed the elk the weekend of Nov. 9-10 in the Sun River Wildlife Management Area, nine miles northwest of Augusta.
Only cow elk or deer can be taken legally there.
Motarie pleaded guilty April 24 to hunting during a closed season and illegal possession of a bull elk.
"It's a massive elk," Benson told the Independent Record in a story Friday. "It was so big he got hit with paying trophy restitution -- about $8,000 instead of $1,000."
Prosecutor Barbara Harris recommended revoking Motarie's hunting privileges for 10 years, but Justice of the Peace Wally Jewell decided that wasn't enough. He said Motarie was convicted of a similar offense in 1987.
Jewell suspended Motarie's hunting privileges for 20 years and fined him about $9,000.
Some of the tipsters gave investigators a general direction of where they had heard gunshots on the wildlife management area.
Rick Bryant, who manages the wildlife area, found some unusual markers on a road that led him to a pile of fresh elk intestines. Investigators took samples for DNA tests, then got a series of search warrants to find Motarie's elk, its meat and its skull.
The DNA tests proved that the intestines came from Motarie's animal.
"That placed him on the wildlife management area," Benson said. "It was a real good deal, because it's hard to argue with DNA. And in this case, we also had people who could place him there."
The minimum standard for a trophy elk is six points on one antler, and Motarie's had six points on both sides. The main beam spread must be at least 43 inches, and this one was more than 48 inches. The antlers' inside spread must be at least 36 inches, and this one was 46-1/2 inches.
Pride in trophy elk brings fine, charges
HELENA (AP) -- A Cut Bank man has lost his hunting privileges, drawn a whopping fine and is facing more criminal charges, all because he couldn't resist boasting about the six-point trophy elk he killed last fall.
A photo of Gary Motarie and his prize elk appeared last November in his hometown newspaper, the Western Breeze, and some local residents suspected that he didn't kill it where he claimed.
They called the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks hotline, 1-800-TIP-MONT.
Game warden Sgt. Gary Benson and others used the modern science of DNA, standard police work and old-fashioned tracking skills to prove that Motarie killed the elk the weekend of Nov. 9-10 in the Sun River Wildlife Management Area, nine miles northwest of Augusta.
Only cow elk or deer can be taken legally there.
Motarie pleaded guilty April 24 to hunting during a closed season and illegal possession of a bull elk.
"It's a massive elk," Benson told the Independent Record in a story Friday. "It was so big he got hit with paying trophy restitution -- about $8,000 instead of $1,000."
Prosecutor Barbara Harris recommended revoking Motarie's hunting privileges for 10 years, but Justice of the Peace Wally Jewell decided that wasn't enough. He said Motarie was convicted of a similar offense in 1987.
Jewell suspended Motarie's hunting privileges for 20 years and fined him about $9,000.
Some of the tipsters gave investigators a general direction of where they had heard gunshots on the wildlife management area.
Rick Bryant, who manages the wildlife area, found some unusual markers on a road that led him to a pile of fresh elk intestines. Investigators took samples for DNA tests, then got a series of search warrants to find Motarie's elk, its meat and its skull.
The DNA tests proved that the intestines came from Motarie's animal.
"That placed him on the wildlife management area," Benson said. "It was a real good deal, because it's hard to argue with DNA. And in this case, we also had people who could place him there."
The minimum standard for a trophy elk is six points on one antler, and Motarie's had six points on both sides. The main beam spread must be at least 43 inches, and this one was more than 48 inches. The antlers' inside spread must be at least 36 inches, and this one was 46-1/2 inches.
