01-09-2007, 09:10 PM
A Nicholas County man has been convicted and received a hefty fine for illegally killing a black bear, according to Captain Mike Pizzino of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Section District 3 Office in Elkins.
Conservation Officer Tim White headed the investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of 46-year old Bernard H. Backus II of Belva, West Virginia. As part of a plea bargain in Nicholas County Magistrate Court in December, Backus was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable for a first offense violation of the state's bear management laws, and ordered to pay $500 for replacement of the bear and court costs of $160.50. He was also ordered to pay $118 for a scientific test that was performed on the bones of the animal.
The bear was killed out of season in July 2006, in the Twenty Mile area of Nicholas County. The bones of the animal had been burned in an attempt to destroy the evidence. The bones were collected and sent to a forensic lab in British Columbia, Canada, for DNA testing. Three eyewitnesses also gave statements in the case.
Conservation Officer Tim White headed the investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of 46-year old Bernard H. Backus II of Belva, West Virginia. As part of a plea bargain in Nicholas County Magistrate Court in December, Backus was fined $5,000, the maximum allowable for a first offense violation of the state's bear management laws, and ordered to pay $500 for replacement of the bear and court costs of $160.50. He was also ordered to pay $118 for a scientific test that was performed on the bones of the animal.
The bear was killed out of season in July 2006, in the Twenty Mile area of Nicholas County. The bones of the animal had been burned in an attempt to destroy the evidence. The bones were collected and sent to a forensic lab in British Columbia, Canada, for DNA testing. Three eyewitnesses also gave statements in the case.