This is a story from a while back, updating now, sounds like something this crappy state would pull, what a shame for people that were applying or purchased the Gov tag which I heard could eclipse $200k some years!
GREAT FALLS – A Whitehall man who authorities say illegally guided a state undercover agent on a hunting trip that resulted in the killing of a huge Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep has been charged with two felonies and three misdemeanors.
John E. Lewton was charged in Chouteau County District Court Monday with felony unlawful possession of a game animal, two misdemeanor counts of hunting without landowner permission, and a misdemeanor count of outfitting without a license. He was charged Wednesday in Jefferson County District Court with felony unlawful sale of a game animal.
Also charged on Wednesday were Blake Trangmoe of Glendive and James Reed of Rexburg, Idaho. Each were charged with one felony count of unlawful possession of a game animal along with several misdemeanors.
The bighorn reportedly had a Boone and Crockett score of 204, ranking it among the largest ever recorded.
According to court documents obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, investigators say Lewton flew over the hunting area in the Missouri Breaks and located the large ram for his client, who turned out to be an undercover agent with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
Investigators say Reed talked by radio with Lewton and Trangmoe, who led the client and another undercover agent across private land to Reed.
Authorities say the undercover agent purposely missed the ram on his first shot, but the next day was placed so close to the ram that he had to shoot it to avoid revealing his identity.
Prosecutors say Lewton then told the undercover agent not to reveal that he used a plane to spot the animal, that they crossed private land or the exact location of the shooting.
The mentioned guide wrote
Hi
Thought I would pass on a few photos of a RAM our hunter took yesterday in the breaks. He does not want his name revealed as he is not into sheep hunting and wishes to remain anonymous .
I found this ram before the season and this was the largest ram I had ever seen in Montana. I was wishing I had a contact number for the governor’s tag holder. I found out that he had hired an outfitter and not wanting to step on any toes I called a young man from Helena who had stopped by the shop and told me he had a tag.. He was a new resident to the state and it was his 1st time applying for sheep. I told him I had found a very big ram and that he needed to come up and try to get it .He told me he could not make it up as he did not have it in his plans . He had some phone calls to make and he could come up on Wednesday afternoon. I was In the breaks filming a sheep hunt and had two friends helping me James Reed and Blake Trangmoe. We decided it would be a good idea to keep a eye on this ram until the hunter could make it up. James went and camped on the ram and did not let it out of his sight for 4 days. He even slept on the hill with him. The hunter arrived on Wednesday afternoon we headed in to meet with James and make a plan to get on the Ram. It was a 4 mile walk from the nearest road. James was out of water and food and was glad to see us. We Quickly put together a plan and made a run on the ram .He had a 300 yd shot but pulled it . His gun was new and he was nervous as this was the 1st ram he had seen. The rams ran out across a big valley and went over the ridge . We headed back and would try to find them in the morning .We split up in the morning and James spotted them not far from the last place we had seen them the night before. He signaled us to come over. We tried to get a shot at them and they blew out again but this time went several miles. They were working their way through some low hills we made a run at them again and once again did not get off a shot We followed them for a mile and they slowed down and gave us a standing shot at 150 yards. He shot again and missed and then took one more shot on their way out of the canyon . James was still high pointing and once again saw which valley they went into so we made a run at them again. By now it was mid day and 85 plus degrees and very hot in the canyons. We came into the next canyon right on top of the rams and they were holding up in the shade. This time his shot was just over 100 yards and he hit the ram. It ran off but not far, laid down and it was all over. The Hunter had no idea what he had and did not seem too excited but James Blake and my self made up for that . We knew that this was a very special ram and would help strengthen the Montana sheep hunting program and help bring more money into the Mt. FWP program. Hopefully some day he will realize what a great trophy he has taken and the effort it takes to find and take a great trophy as this.
We Called this ram 44 magnum as I had guessed he was 44” long and the magnum for, well look at the photos!
The Ram was all of 44” and had a base pushing 18”. His 1st qtr was over 17” and his short horn was over 40”.
I have not skinned off the head yet and will give you a green score when I have a chance to put a tight tape on it
.John Lewton
some replys to whats going on
I'm glad undercover vice cops don't resort to commiting murder to try and bust bad guys. This was a world class f-up by the fish and game. My opinion has nothing to do with Lewton. I couldn't give two sheets about the guy. This is about fish and game going way over what is reasonable and taking one of the greatest trophy rams in modern times away from the sportsmen and women of the state of Montana. Some lucky hunter deserved a chance at this ram and now he is just a piece of evidence. If I had the Montana bighorn auction tag and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to the state of Montana only to have on of their employees kill the biggest ram alive in the state would cause me to get an attorney fast. This kind of crap is an absolute travesty and is beyond having an excuse for. To bust a guy for illegal guiding they kill a 204 ram. UN-FREAKIN-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are hundreds of good wildlife officers out there working for low pay, and putting up with alot of crap and don't get the recognition they deserve and this keystone cop circus was a slap in the face to those folks.
more
So.... the F&W wasted and shot a $200,000+ ram to bust a guy on possible trespassing charges! Nice Going!
None of the other charges appear legitimate.
I have guided sheep hunts with Lewton filming, he's a pretty good guy from what I had seen. The outfitters probably just didn't like to see him "guiding" for free, and pressured the F&W to try and sting him. BTW the $1000.00 would have paid for the pilot, and apparently flew more than 24 hours prior to any hunting (LEGAL). Besides, no one would "guide" a 200" plus ram for 1k, legit "guide" or not. He most likely had more than that in expenses alone to even find it. Could make a good Defamation of Character suit though. Maybe Lewton will get paid big after all.
Wonder if he'll make a video out of it. I can see the highlights: Watch the amazing plight of this magnificent state record class ram that is eventually shot by under cover F&W officers in an effort to try to bust me for trespassing ! Unbelievable.
what it sounds like to me this dude will get a misdemeanor tresspass conviction! what a frickin joke if it holds true, what a shame that a sheep like this was killed in this manor!
