Wes Johnson

WJOHNSON@NEWS-LEADER.COM

A man who earlier this month killed a black bear in Jefferson County and tossed the head and hide into a creek paid more in court costs than the $99.50 fine he received.

Authorities say Chris Keown, 40, of House Springs, shot the bear with a muzzle-loading rifle around May 2 in a heavily wooded area near his home, prompting a call to Operation Game Thief, according to Larry Yamnitz, Protection Division Chief with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"The caller gave our agent information on who did it," Yamnitz said.

Eventually, the man's son convinced his dad to talk to game officials about killing the bear, Yamnitz said.

"We recovered the head and hide, which had been dumped in a creek, and we found the bear's meat and paws in somebody's refrigerator," he said. "Our agents did their job."

Keown was cited for pursuing, taking, killing, possessing or disposing of wildlife, a misdemeanor. His case could have gone two ways, according to Yamnitz.

He could plead guilty to the conservation agent's citation, or plead not guilty and face possible trial through the Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office.

Compared with neighbors, Missouri poachers get off easy

By pleading guilty to the citation, Keown faced only a $99.50 fine, $89.50 in associated costs, and $14 in Jefferson County court costs — a total of $203. Fines for various wildlife offenses are outlined in a 13-page Conservation Violation Code.

Had he fought the ticket and gone to trial, he could have faced up to $1,000 in fines and up to a year in jail.

By pleading guilty to the citation, Yamnitz said Keown could not also be prosecuted criminally. He acknowledged that the low fine would not serve as much of a deterrent to future poachers.

"I'm not going to disrespect the court or the General Assembly," Yamnitz said. "But that's the way it's set up in Missouri. The agents do their job, delivering the facts."

Yamnitz said Keown is a convicted felon, with previous run-ins with game officials. He wasn't charged for illegally possessing a firearm because most muzzle loaders use black powder propellant poured down the barrel, with a bullet rammed down on top of the powder charge, instead of self-contained cased ammunition. Antique-style muzzle loaders aren't classified as firearms under federal law.

Conservation agents confiscated the bear parts and held Keown's rifle as evidence. But it's possible he'll get the gun back after he pays his fine and court costs.

"We don't have a criminal forfeiture law for property involved in wildlife cases," Yamnitz said.

Eventually, the Missouri Conservation Commission could review Keown's case and potentially revoke his future hunting and fishing privileges. The News-Leader was unable to reach Keown for a comment.

Yamnitz said it would be up to Missouri lawmakers to put more teeth into wildlife fines. A bill filed by state Rep. Linda Black would have required poachers to make hefty restitution payments.

Under Black's bill, anyone who illegally killed an elk or black bear in Missouri would face an additional fine of $3,500. Killing a turkey illegally could cost an extra $750, while taking a deer illegally could add $1,500 to whatever civil penalty a local judge might order.

House Agriculture Policy Committee chair Jay Houghton did not bring Black's bill up for a vote, citing lack of support for it among some committee members.

This is not the first report of an illegally killed bear in Missouri in recent times, according to Yamnitz.

"Back in the late 1980s a bear was illegally killed in Ripley County," he said. "I was stationed in northeast Missouri at the time and do not remember much of the details about the case other than it was an opportunistic kill where the person was in the woods, saw the bear and killed it.

"Another illegal kill occurred in Laclede County in June of 2014. In that case the bear crossed the road in front of the suspect’s vehicle, the suspect exited the vehicle and shot the bear several times with a shotgun. He received a 30-day jail sentence."

In 2009 residents near Seymour reported finding a dead black bear that appeared to have been killed with an arrow to its back. It's unclear if anyone was prosecuted.

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