Hunter facing charges after death of beloved elk named Bullwinkle

[Dan-o]

My gut still tells me that he wil be found not guilty.

Why else would he reject the pleas, unless he thinks he can win?

[Gringo31]

He may reject them, draw it out some, in hopes of the plea deal getting sweeter....

[Curly]

I think a jury trial could likely go either way.  If a jury hears that wdfw employees gave the okay, then they are likely to side with the defendant.  He's got a lot of money invested in tags this year and probably not many years of hunting left in him, so that is probably why he doesn't take a deal. 

He just had to drag it out until after September, but now that the judge is saying no more hunting I wonder what he will do?  I would think he can still hunt his out-of-state hunts until after it goes to court though, so maybe he will still drag it out until he can hunt the out-of-state tags he has. 

[Rainier10]

The offer was one year off of hunting, a fine and some community service, if it goes to trial I don't see him even getting that so it is worth the gamble I would think.  I think the trial is set for August so he could have an answer either way before the hunts can start in September.  I think odds are good one way or another we will have a final outcome by September or sooner.  Then we can talk about that for a few days until something new pops up and takes our attention.  Squirrel!

[TheHunt]

I think he will get off with little effects to him.

[huntnphool]

I think a jury trial could likely go either way.  If a jury hears that wdfw employees gave the okay, then they are likely to side with the defendant.  He's got a lot of money invested in tags this year and probably not many years of hunting left in him, so that is probably why he doesn't take a deal. 

He just had to drag it out until after September, but now that the judge is saying no more hunting I wonder what he will do?  I would think he can still hunt his out-of-state hunts until after it goes to court though, so maybe he will still drag it out until he can hunt the out-of-state tags he has. 

 I heard that it was reported this morning that WDFW denies having given him permission to kill that bull.

 Hmmmm!

[h20hunter]

I like the judges logic here.

http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/32276886/bullwinkles-hunter-goes-to-trial-in-august

[Troutdreamer]

I wonder if TR sues the guy in his party that gave him the go ahead.


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[kentrek]

Remember calling fish and game to get clarification on a grey area and I thought I remember my call being recorded 

[huntnphool]

Reichert's attorney insisted that a hunting partner of Reichert's obtained permission for them to hunt Bullwinkle from state wildlife officials.

 That could set a troublesome precedent if allowed to get him off.

[Antlershed]

Remember calling fish and game to get clarification on a grey area and I thought I remember my call being recorded 

I called the enforcement desk back in January to ask them a question and before they answered there was a recording that said, "this call may be monitored or recorded...".

[Bob33]

If the “friend” were someone in the business of guiding and outfitting, then perhaps a judge could be convinced that a reasonable person would be justified in believing his advice about the legality of the hunt. However, if the “friend” is nothing more than an acquaintance who doesn’t guide for a living then I believe a hunter should clearly do his own research on what is, and what is not legal.

[Curly]

I wonder if a finder's fee was paid out for finding Bullwinkle?  And if it was, I would think it should be returned since it was an illegal kill.

[mfswallace]

If the “friend” were someone in the business of guiding and outfitting, then perhaps a judge could be convinced that a reasonable person would be justified in believing his advice about the legality of the hunt. However, if the “friend” is nothing more than an acquaintance who doesn’t guide for a living then I believe a hunter should clearly do his own research on what is, and what is not legal.

Neither scenario holds up in this case! A life long Washington hunter himself he can't play dumb. If he were hunting somewhere new for first time I might buy believing the professional guide... But still at some point personal responsibility must come into account, to little of that is what's ruining a once great country

[Gringo31]

Sounds like he's screwed.


He broke the law, killed a bull in an area he wasn't allowed to.

His defense that someone told him it was ok isn't flying.....and the defenders on this site have gone quiet.