Trevor Hughes

USA TODAY

BOULDER, Colo. — A former Boulder, Colo., police officer convicted of poaching a beloved trophy elk in a residential neighborhood and then trying to cover it up faces hefty fines and possible prison time, and loses his right to carry a firearm.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours before convicting Sam Carter on all nine counts he faced, which also included forgery and tampering with evidence.

Carter shot "Big Boy" the bull elk with his buckshot-loaded shotgun as it grazed on fallen crabapples, and then called in a friend and fellow officer to help remove it as horrified neighbors watched Jan. 1, 2013. Defense attorneys argued the elk was injured and had to be put down to protect the community.

"Nobody wants an officer like this in any police department," said Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett. "The most important thing for my office was to get a felony conviction."

The case touched on the role of police, the value of wildlife, and even what legal duty officers have if an animal is deemed aggressive and poses a danger to drunken college students stumbling home from the bars. Upset Boulder residents organized vigils and parades to commemorate the elk's death, and a memorial sprung up near where it was killed.

Carter did not react as the verdicts were read aloud Tuesday afternoon. Although the convictions carry potential prison time, Garnett said he hasn't yet decided whether to seek it.

"Sending a cop to prison is a very tricky thing," he said. Carter faces a special $10,000 fine for a conviction of Colorado's "Samson" law, which specifies extra punishment for anyone caught poaching an especially majestic animal.

Prosecutors during a six-day trial laid out their evidence that Carter targeted the elk: Text messages he sent to his buddy announcing "he dies tonight," his deliberate disabling of his patrol car's GPS unit, and hours of radio silence when fellow officers were responding to other calls. Carter also didn't report to his superiors that he had fired his shotgun, which is normal procedure.

"He had a good old time out there," said prosecutor Fred Johnson. "In the dark of the night ... cloaked in his uniform ... he shot that elk down, killed it on the front lawn."

Carter declined to comment. He remains free on personal recognizance until his August sentencing. As a convicted felon, he cannot possess firearms, and will probably lose his right to hunt in Colorado.

Carter's friend who helped remove the elk already pleaded guilty to helping haul away and butcher it before telling state wildlife officials they put it down under a "roadkill" permit.

Both officers also resigned from the department after they were arrested in January 2013. Carter didn't take the witness stand during the trial, and his attorneys argue he was pilloried for making an unpopular decision.

"What he should have done, could have done ... it doesn't matter," defense attorney Carrie Slinkard said in her closing argument to the jury of seven women and five men. "From the very beginning, they had their minds made up. This is a no-win situation for Mr. Carter."

The case touched a nerve in this small city where deer, bear and mountain lion sightings are common, and dogs can be walked off-leash only in special areas and then only if their "dog guardians" have been specially certified by the city.

Garnett said the case centered on both police honesty and Big Boy's intrinsic value to Boulder and beyond.

"This case is about what an animal like this means to the community," he said. "The public owns an animal like this."