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Lawmaker cleared in elk shooting
Illegal trophy bull: But the brother of Panguitch's Sen. Hatch faces poaching charges in state court
By Brett Prettyman
The Salt Lake Tribune
State Sen. Thomas Hatch, R-Panguitch, has been cleared of wrongdoing during an elk hunt near his home last fall in which a trophy bull was illegally killed.
But the senator's brother, Ira Ronald Hatch, was charged Tuesday in 6th District Court in Garfield County with two counts of poaching for killing the trophy bull and then allowing the meat to go to waste.
"I'm deeply disappointed that Ron has been charged," the senator said from his Panguitch office Tuesday. "He was one of several individuals in the area and he could have shot that elk, but I just feel it is wrong that he is being charged with wanton destruction of wildlife and for abandoning it."
The incident took place as the Hatch brothers were riding their horses on the popular Mount Dutton unit in Garfield County on Oct. 18, 2003. The brothers each had a permit to kill a cow elk in the area and Ronald Hatch thought he was exercising that right when he shot into a large herd of elk.
"He said he thought he hit an elk," Thomas Hatch said. "We went to look for it and we found a bull. He said, 'I didn't shoot a bull.' There were 15 or 20 people in the basin and two other individuals shot. I'm not even sure the other two were investigated. The focus has all been on Ron."
Ronald Hatch was charged with one class A misdemeanor (punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine) for wanton destruction of protected wildlife and a Class B misdemeanor (six months in jail and $1,000) for wasting wildlife.
Thomas Hatch told The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday that after finding the wounded bull his brother suggested "we ought to finish it off."
"I told him 'I'm not going to shoot it with 20 people around in my position [as an elected official],' ? the senator said. "We continued on down the ridge and I did shoot a cow elk."
The senator says he plans to help his brother fight the charges and restated his belief that the investigation "was politically motivated. I knew all along that I was innocent. That's the price you pay when you serve in these positions."
The already sensitive situation of an elected official being investigated by a state agency - Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) conservation officers in this case - is compounded because Thomas Hatch is co-chair of the Legislature's Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment committee, which sets the state wildlife agency's annual budget.
The case has caused turmoil in 6th District Court in Panguitch because County Attorney Wallace Lee had to recuse himself from the case after the DWR presented it for prosecution. Lee has served on the county commission with Thomas Hatch and is a neighbor of Ronald Hatch.
A group of state prosecutors reviewed the case before deciding to pursue the charges against Ronald Hatch but not against his brother.
Gary Heward, a Weber County attorney, has been assigned to handle the case and will represent the state as a special deputy Garfield County attorney. The case will be heard by 6th District Judge David Mower.
Illegal trophy bull: But the brother of Panguitch's Sen. Hatch faces poaching charges in state court
By Brett Prettyman
The Salt Lake Tribune
State Sen. Thomas Hatch, R-Panguitch, has been cleared of wrongdoing during an elk hunt near his home last fall in which a trophy bull was illegally killed.
But the senator's brother, Ira Ronald Hatch, was charged Tuesday in 6th District Court in Garfield County with two counts of poaching for killing the trophy bull and then allowing the meat to go to waste.
"I'm deeply disappointed that Ron has been charged," the senator said from his Panguitch office Tuesday. "He was one of several individuals in the area and he could have shot that elk, but I just feel it is wrong that he is being charged with wanton destruction of wildlife and for abandoning it."
The incident took place as the Hatch brothers were riding their horses on the popular Mount Dutton unit in Garfield County on Oct. 18, 2003. The brothers each had a permit to kill a cow elk in the area and Ronald Hatch thought he was exercising that right when he shot into a large herd of elk.
"He said he thought he hit an elk," Thomas Hatch said. "We went to look for it and we found a bull. He said, 'I didn't shoot a bull.' There were 15 or 20 people in the basin and two other individuals shot. I'm not even sure the other two were investigated. The focus has all been on Ron."
Ronald Hatch was charged with one class A misdemeanor (punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine) for wanton destruction of protected wildlife and a Class B misdemeanor (six months in jail and $1,000) for wasting wildlife.
Thomas Hatch told The Salt Lake Tribune Tuesday that after finding the wounded bull his brother suggested "we ought to finish it off."
"I told him 'I'm not going to shoot it with 20 people around in my position [as an elected official],' ? the senator said. "We continued on down the ridge and I did shoot a cow elk."
The senator says he plans to help his brother fight the charges and restated his belief that the investigation "was politically motivated. I knew all along that I was innocent. That's the price you pay when you serve in these positions."
The already sensitive situation of an elected official being investigated by a state agency - Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) conservation officers in this case - is compounded because Thomas Hatch is co-chair of the Legislature's Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment committee, which sets the state wildlife agency's annual budget.
The case has caused turmoil in 6th District Court in Panguitch because County Attorney Wallace Lee had to recuse himself from the case after the DWR presented it for prosecution. Lee has served on the county commission with Thomas Hatch and is a neighbor of Ronald Hatch.
A group of state prosecutors reviewed the case before deciding to pursue the charges against Ronald Hatch but not against his brother.
Gary Heward, a Weber County attorney, has been assigned to handle the case and will represent the state as a special deputy Garfield County attorney. The case will be heard by 6th District Judge David Mower.
