|
Kentucky Man Faces Charges For Killing Bear 8/25/04 Terry Brock stepped outside his home the morning of June 2, to discover a black bear looking for breakfast. He immediately dashed back inside and told his wife to call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife (KDFW) while he tried to scare the animal away. The bear wouldn't scare and became aggressive, so Brock grabbed his antique 30-30 and killed it. The KDFW then filed charges against him because it is unlawful to kill a black bear in Kentucky. If Brock agreed to plead guilty he would avoid a possible jail sentence, but would have to pay a $250 fine, lose his hunting privileges, and forfeit his heirloom 30-30. Brock refused the deal, preferring to take his chances with a jury of his peers, even though he could get a year in jail and a $1,000 fine if convicted. "I don't feel like I've done anything wrong," Brock said. It may be the KDFW wants to make an example of Mr. Brock because they won't drop the charges. "This is our first case," said Frank Campbell, a conservation officer. "I feel it's a very important case for us." Defense attorney Jamie Hatton remarked, "It seems like he had a right to protect his family, his dogs, his horse, from this bear. It's not like he was poaching." RELATED STORY: He killed bear, now defends self By Roger Alford
Startled, the Letcher County man jumped back inside, asked his wife to call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife for help, and began banging on the wall of his mobile home, hoping the noise would frighten the wild animal away from his terrified dogs and horse. When that didn't work, Brock, 36, of Mayking, said he grabbed an heirloom rifle and fired. Now, Brock faces a criminal charge of illegally killing the bear on June 2, and the local prosecutor is left with a case that could test how jurors in eastern Kentucky perceive the shooting of black bears in residential areas. "The jury would have to decide whether this person acted in a criminal nature," said Letcher County Attorney Harold Bolling. "There's a big difference in killing something for sport, and killing something if the person thought his life or his livestock was in danger." One other such case is pending in Knox County, where a man allegedly killed a bear in his garden because it continued coming toward him after he fired a warning shot. Black bears thrived in the area more than 100 years ago, before logging and over-hunting led to their disappearance. Over the past 20 years, they have been venturing back into Kentucky from forests in Virginia and West Virginia. Now, for the first time in more than a century, Kentucky has a self-sustaining black bear population and residents of the mountainous region along the state's eastern border are having to learn to live alongside them. Brock, who has pleaded not guilty to illegally killing the bear, said he couldn't believe he was accused of a crime. "The bear was taking swipes at our dogs," he said. "I thought our horse might break a leg trying to get out of his stall. The kids were going to pieces." In the chaos, Brock said he grabbed the 30-30 caliber rifle and stepped back outside in time to see the bear to stand erect. "I had always heard that they were ready to attack when they did that," he said. "So I shot it." Bolling said more details about the case will come out in a hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Letcher County District Court. Mark Marraccini, spokesman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said conflicts between bears and people would be unlikely if people stopped leaving food or household garbage where bears can get it. "It's not legal to kill bears in Kentucky," Marraccini said.
RELATED STORY:
Man who killed bear rejects plea bargain ROGER
ALFORD 8/25/04 An eastern Kentucky man charged with illegally killing a bear in his backyard has refused to plead guilty in order to avoid the possibility of jail time, opting instead to have his case heard in front of a jury. Terry Brock, 36, of Mayking, said the bear was a renegade and that he killed it to protect his family. The Letcher County man faces from 30 days to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted. He said the county prosecutor offered a plea bargain that would have required no jail time but he would have had to pay a $250 penalty, give up his hunting privileges and the heirloom 30-30 caliber rifle he used to shoot the bear. "I didn't want to do that," Brock said. "I don't feel like I did anything wrong." District Judge Jim Wood set Brock's trial for Sept. 20. Brock, who has three children, said he walked out his door on June 2 to see what had his dogs and horse so disturbed and came face to face with the bear. He said he jumped back inside, asked his wife to call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife for help, and began banging on the wall of his mobile home, hoping the noise would frighten the wild animal away. When that didn't work, Brock said he grabbed an heirloom rifle and fired. "It seems like he had a right to protect his family, his dogs, his horse, from this bear," said defense attorney Jamie Hatton. "It's not like he was poaching." Letcher County Attorney Harold Bolling couldn't be reached to comment Wednesday. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, which filed the charge against Brock, doesn't want the case dropped. "This is our first case," Frank Campbell, a conservation officer assigned to Letcher County, told WYMT-TV in Hazard. "I feel it's a very important case for us." In a region where complaints about the protected animals are on the increase, a trial could test how jurors in eastern Kentucky perceive the shooting of black bears that wander into residential areas. One other such case is pending in Knox County, where a man allegedly killed a bear in his garden because it continued coming toward him after he fired a warning shot. Black bears thrived in the area more than 100 years ago, before logging and over-hunting led to their disappearance. Over the past 20 years, they have been venturing back into Kentucky from forests in Virginia and West Virginia. Now, for the first time in more than a century, Kentucky has a self-sustaining black bear population and residents of the mountainous region along the state's eastern border are having to learn to live alongside them. Mark Marraccini, spokesman for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said last week that conflicts between bears and people would decrease if people stopped leaving food and household garbage where bears can get it. Brock, who has pleaded not guilty to illegally killing the bear, said he couldn't believe he was accused of a crime. He said the bear swatted at his dogs and had his horse so spooked that he feared it might break a leg trying to get out of its stall. "I don't think people should be shooting these bears under most circumstances," Hatton said. "Under this circumstance only should you be allowed to shoot a bear.
|