I still think the Montana FWP should be slammed for this whole fiasco. They owe everyone an apology and need to change how they manage pretty much everything. Someone's head needs to roll but I have a feeling that nothing will change.
The Whitehall taxidermist charged with illegally buying a bighorn sheep from an undercover game warden is seen telling the agent not to talk about using two-way radios in a video of the hunt that a prosecutor played Monday before a jury.
John Lewton also tells Justin Gibson, the undercover agent with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, that he shouldn't mention that they crossed private property to get to the public land where the ram was killed.
"You shouldn't mention those radios," Lewton says on tape after the ram was shot by Gibson during the September 2008 hunt. "I don't have a map with me, but you can get in here without crossing private land."
Lewton is on trial in Boulder district court for allegedly buying the ram from Gibson after the hunt. State prosecutors allege Lewton knew the ram was killed illegally because he led Gibson and another undercover agent in a hunt that broke several laws, including the radio use, by trespassing and by driving off road on ATVs.
But Jack Morris, a Whitehall
attorney, has attacked the state's case, saying no one forced Gibson to shoot the ram. He has contended that Gibson killed the trophy, which is among the largest ever killed in the state, for his own pleasure as well as to elevate the charges against Lewton to felonies.
The video of the hunt shows Lewton leading Gibson on the hunt, with Blake Trangmoe, one of Lewton's assistants, following. It was shot by the other undercover agent and also shows James Reed, another assistant for Lewton, atop a high vantage point.
Gibson testified that Reed was directing them where to go over the radio. And Gibson said Lewton was using alias names.
"As soon as they would run, we knew exactly where they went," Gibson said while being questioned by Kathleen Jenks, assistant attorney general. "And we would be directed to that location over and over."
The video shows Gibson missing the ram on several occasions. Lewton can be heard at one point telling Gibson to shoot the middle ram, the largest of the group.
Gibson said as the purposeful misses grew, he felt the tension rising among the group. After three misses, the ram along with three others stopped about 100 yards away and Gibson said he couldn't fake a fourth miss.
And Gibson disputed that he took any pleasure in killing the ram.
"What I did in this investigation was to protect wildlife," he said. "If necessary you shoot and kill one animal to protect future animals."
But Morris again questioned whether any specific threats were made to Gibson. He said Gibson was the only hunter and the only one with a gun.
"You were the only one hunting," Morris said. "You could have easily missed; that would have protected that ram and allowed his genes to stay in the gene pool."
Morris also in reviewing the hunting tape questioned whether any footage showed use of the radio. He said Lewton, Trangmoe and Gibson can be seen looking up in Reed's direction several times, with Lewton using hand signals.
Morris noted that the regulations don't bar radios from being brought along if they're not used to pursue game.
On two occasions, the radio can be seen in Lewton's hands on the tape.
Morris called as his lone witness Trangmoe, who made his own tape of the hunt. In playing the tape, Morris asked Trangmoe if radios were ever used. Trangmoe said radios weren't needed for the hunt because they could see Reed almost all the time.
Trangmoe, who is facing charges in Chouteau County in connection with the operation, said they didn't think they were trespassing as long as they stayed on the road while crossing private land. Trangmoe testified the only reason Lewton told Gibson not to mention the radios or private land crossings was to keep FWP from blowing it out of proportion.
"Any time you mention something like that, they try to make a big deal out of it," he said.
Trangmoe also said Gibson had no reason to feel threatened. And he said as the hunter, Gibson had the right to shoot any of the rams, or even to quit and go home.
"If he wasn't going to shoot one, I didn't care," he said. "We sure weren't going to make him kill it."
But Jenks, the prosecutor, on cross examination said the tape showed that Lewton and Trangmoe were telling Gibson which ram to shoot. She said clearly they were leading the hunt and wanted the largest ram killed.
"Wasn't that the same point in the tape when you were telling Justin to go ahead and shoot it in the ass?" she said. "You didn't care whether he shot it, but you were really excited when he shot it."
The trial, before Judge Loren Tucker, continues Wednesday with closing arguments.
The Whitehall taxidermist charged with illegally buying a bighorn sheep from an undercover game warden is seen telling the agent not to talk about using two-way radios in a video of the hunt that a prosecutor played Monday before a jury.
John Lewton also tells Justin Gibson, the undercover agent with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, that he shouldn't mention that they crossed private property to get to the public land where the ram was killed.
"You shouldn't mention those radios," Lewton says on tape after the ram was shot by Gibson during the September 2008 hunt. "I don't have a map with me, but you can get in here without crossing private land."
Lewton is on trial in Boulder district court for allegedly buying the ram from Gibson after the hunt. State prosecutors allege Lewton knew the ram was killed illegally because he led Gibson and another undercover agent in a hunt that broke several laws, including the radio use, by trespassing and by driving off road on ATVs.
But Jack Morris, a Whitehall
attorney, has attacked the state's case, saying no one forced Gibson to shoot the ram. He has contended that Gibson killed the trophy, which is among the largest ever killed in the state, for his own pleasure as well as to elevate the charges against Lewton to felonies.
The video of the hunt shows Lewton leading Gibson on the hunt, with Blake Trangmoe, one of Lewton's assistants, following. It was shot by the other undercover agent and also shows James Reed, another assistant for Lewton, atop a high vantage point.
Gibson testified that Reed was directing them where to go over the radio. And Gibson said Lewton was using alias names.
"As soon as they would run, we knew exactly where they went," Gibson said while being questioned by Kathleen Jenks, assistant attorney general. "And we would be directed to that location over and over."
The video shows Gibson missing the ram on several occasions. Lewton can be heard at one point telling Gibson to shoot the middle ram, the largest of the group.
Gibson said as the purposeful misses grew, he felt the tension rising among the group. After three misses, the ram along with three others stopped about 100 yards away and Gibson said he couldn't fake a fourth miss.
And Gibson disputed that he took any pleasure in killing the ram.
"What I did in this investigation was to protect wildlife," he said. "If necessary you shoot and kill one animal to protect future animals."
But Morris again questioned whether any specific threats were made to Gibson. He said Gibson was the only hunter and the only one with a gun.
"You were the only one hunting," Morris said. "You could have easily missed; that would have protected that ram and allowed his genes to stay in the gene pool."
Morris also in reviewing the hunting tape questioned whether any footage showed use of the radio. He said Lewton, Trangmoe and Gibson can be seen looking up in Reed's direction several times, with Lewton using hand signals.
Morris noted that the regulations don't bar radios from being brought along if they're not used to pursue game.
On two occasions, the radio can be seen in Lewton's hands on the tape.
Morris called as his lone witness Trangmoe, who made his own tape of the hunt. In playing the tape, Morris asked Trangmoe if radios were ever used. Trangmoe said radios weren't needed for the hunt because they could see Reed almost all the time.
Trangmoe, who is facing charges in Chouteau County in connection with the operation, said they didn't think they were trespassing as long as they stayed on the road while crossing private land. Trangmoe testified the only reason Lewton told Gibson not to mention the radios or private land crossings was to keep FWP from blowing it out of proportion.
"Any time you mention something like that, they try to make a big deal out of it," he said.
Trangmoe also said Gibson had no reason to feel threatened. And he said as the hunter, Gibson had the right to shoot any of the rams, or even to quit and go home.
"If he wasn't going to shoot one, I didn't care," he said. "We sure weren't going to make him kill it."
But Jenks, the prosecutor, on cross examination said the tape showed that Lewton and Trangmoe were telling Gibson which ram to shoot. She said clearly they were leading the hunt and wanted the largest ram killed.
"Wasn't that the same point in the tape when you were telling Justin to go ahead and shoot it in the ass?" she said. "You didn't care whether he shot it, but you were really excited when he shot it."
The trial, before Judge Loren Tucker, continues Wednesday with closing arguments.
