Pennsylvanian Fined After Hunting Bears Claiming Alaska Resident Status

 

A Pennsylvania man will pay $9,000 in fines stemming from hunting bears while claiming to be an Alaska resident.  Here’s Anchorage’s CBS TV  affiliate KTVA with more:

A man from Pennsylvania will pay a steep fine over two illegal Alaska bear kills, after Alaska Wildlife Troopers say he falsely claimed to be an Alaska resident when he applied to hunt them near the Brooks Range.

Brian Schoenly, 53, was ordered to pay $9,000 in the case, troopers said in an online dispatch Wednesday. He pleaded guilty July 31 to one count of making a false statement on an Alaska Department of Fish and Game application, plus two counts of not obtaining a big-game tag as a nonresident.

The case stemmed from an Alaska resident hunting and fishing license Schoenly received in June 2015, troopers said, for which he claimed to have been a resident since 2011.

Here’s the Alaska Wildlife Troopers report:

In February of 2016 Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Juneau started a residency investigation on Brian Schoenly, age 53 of Pennsylvania.  An initial residency investigation revealed Schoenly obtained an Alaska resident fishing and hunting license in June of 2015 claiming he has been a resident since 2011.  Further investigation revealed Schoenly did not meet the requirements to qualify for Alaskan residency for hunting and fishing privileges. In September of 2015 Schoenly harvested a brown bear and a black bear while hunting in GMU 25-A under the claim of residency.  When Schoenly harvested the brown bear in 2015 he did so without a guide.  Schoenly also did not have proper locking tags for the brown bear and black bear and was in unlawful possession of both bears.

Schoenly was originally charged with two counts of making a false statement on a fish and game application, one count of unsworn falsification, two counts of nonresident not obtaining a big game tag, one count of nonresident hunting without a guide, and two counts of unlawful possession of a big game animal.  On 7/31/2017 Schoenly plead guilty to one count of making a false statement on a fish and game application, and two counts of a nonresident not obtaining a big game tag. Schoenly was ordered to pay $9000 in fines and forfeiture of a brown bear and a black bear.  As part of the plea agreement the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the additional charges.