Pennsylvania Game News - July 2010 - 42

ied, but an original signature on the application is required. PALS automatically tracks allocations and monitors personal license

limits, so hunters cannot be issued more licenses than they are entitled to at any given point. See Digest for additional details.

Major cases solved
Wilkes-Barre man guilty of killing bear over bait
GUILTY of killing a 707-pound bear over bait during the 2009 season, Charles W. Olsen Jr., 39, of WilkesBarre was ordered to pay fines and restitution of $6,800, plus court costs. Olsen also stands to lose his hunting and trapping privileges for at least three years. District Judge Carl Smith of Tunkhannock found Olsen guilty of unlawfully killing a bear, for which he fined Olsen $1,500, and of hunting over bait, for which he fined Olsen $300. In addition, Judge Smith assessed Olsen with a $5,000 restitution penalty because the bear was considered “trophy class,” which means that it exceeded a field-dressed weight of 350 pounds. The case began when Luzerne County WCO Cory Bentzoni saw a truck loaded with pastries traveling along Route 309 in Dallas. “It was about a week before bear season,” WCO Bentzoni said, “and seeing someone with such an unusual amount of pastries was like watching an individual go down a row of parked vehicles testing each handle to see if any would open. It just didn’t seem right. “However, as ‘possession of pastries’ is not unlawful, there was nothing I could do but write down the truck’s license plate number. Checking the number, I found that it was registered to Olsen, so I then instructed all Game Commission personnel operating bear check stations throughout the region to notify me if Olsen brought in a bear.” Sure enough, on Nov. 25, Olsen brought a bear into the check station at the Northeast Region Office in Dallas. WCO Rosa was immediately contacted by the Northeast Region Office, because Olsen reportedly harvested the bear in Wyoming County. Northeast Region Land Management Supervisor Peter Sussenbach, who also was aware of the tip provided by WCO Bentzoni, approached Olsen and said, “There may be a problem with this bear.” At that point, Olsen confessed to killing the bear over a bait pile.

Man pleads guilty to unlawful killing of Canada goose
ROY Gordon Lovell, 74, of Glen Rock pled guilty to one count of the unlawful killing of a Canada goose and one count of false or fraudulent statements. The case began on April 20, when a witness reported to the Game Commission that Lovell had shot a Canada goose on his property near Glen Rock. When Deputy WCO Robert Simmonds investigated, he found evi-

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES who require special assistance at Game Commission public functions should contact the telephone number listed with the announcement, the appropriate region office or the Harrisburg headquarters. Phone numbers for each region are listed in Game News; the Harrisburg number is 717-787-4250.

GAME NEWS

Pennsylvania Game News - July 2010

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