(MISSOULA) – A Troy man admitted on Thursday to tampering with evidence in the shooting of a grizzly bear on his property in 2020 and discarding of the bear’s GPS collar in the Yaak River.
Othel Lee Pearson, 80, pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and with failure to report taking of grizzly bear. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a 250,000 dollar fine and three years of supervised release on the tampering with evidence charge and a maximum of six months in prison and a 25,000 dollar fine on the failure to report charge.
U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy presided. The court set sentencing for June 6. Pearson was released pending further proceedings.
