Blackfoot man sentenced for years of trapping and hunting crimes
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BLACKFOOT — A Blackfoot man lost his ability to hunt and trap for years after pleading guilty to over a decade of hunting violations.
Gage Allen, 33, pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor counts of various wildlife crimes dating back to 2007. On June 24, Magistrate Judge James Barrett suspended 300 days of jail time and placed Allen on four years of unsupervised probation, court records show.
Allen also lost his privilege to obtain a hunting license for nine years and a trapping license for 15 years. He will be required to complete 100 hours of community service.
As part of a plea agreement, Bingham County prosecutors dropped 25 additional charges related to poaching. He had also been initially charged with four felonies related to the illegal killing and selling of bobcats, but those were amended to misdemeanors.
Between 2007 and 2019, Idaho Department and Fish and Game officials say Allen illegally trapped and sold bobcats and illegally killed mule deer near Blackfoot. In a news release, Fish and Game reports Allen used illegal bait like pheasants to trap the bobcats and he would sell them for as much as $1,000.
“Allen admittedly knew what he was doing was wrong, but added that apparently the thrill of catching the cats and selling them for thousands of dollars led him to intentionally break the law,” investigators said according to the news release.
When speaking with investigators, Allen admitted to killing the three deer in 2007 after legal hours in a closed season and using another person’s tag after using his own.
Allen pleaded guilty to unlawful take of a bobcat, illegal use of game animals or game birds as bait, unlawful possession of unlawfully taken mule deer, trapping without a valid license and trapping within 30 feet of visible bait.
Barret also ordered Allen to pay $1,825 in court fees and fine