Montana: Ravalli Republic Reported 1st – A Darby man charged with five felonies in a bear poaching case appeared last week in Ravalli County Justice Court. James “Jimmy” Harrison, 61, was released on his own recognizance following a short hearing in Justice of the Peace Jennifer Ray’s court.
Harrison is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Ravalli County District Court on Feb. 26.
Harrison was one of three Ravalli County men charged for illegally killing bears in Beaverhead and Ravalli counties between 2009 and 2014.
All three were initially charged with misdemeanors in the case. Following a review of the case, the Ravalli County Attorney’s Office filed felony charges against Harrison.
The cases against Richard Sublette, 56, of Hamilton and Kyle L. Whyard, 26, of Darby remain in justice court.
The three men first came under scrutiny in June 2014 after Harrison called a game warden and stated that his two friends, Sublette and Whyard, had killed two bears in the Trail Creek area of the Big Hole Valley.
On the same day, FWP received an anonymous call stating that Harrison was in possession of a black bear just off the West Fork Road. When the warden responded to the area, he found two bear carcasses dumped near the Trapper Creek Road. The carcasses contained meat fit for human consumption.
One of the bears still had Whyard’s bear license taped to its rear leg. Continue reading: http://ravallirepublic.com/news/local/article_4f8a0a84-9b8e-11e4-bb85-af91394293b8.html