Suspicious story about huge mountain lion helps capture Colorado poacher, officials say
When a Colorado hunter “presented a mountain lion” for a mandatory harvest inspection, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer became suspicious of the hunter’s story, according to a news release from the department.
The mountain lion — about as big as the accused poacher who posed with it in a photo — was killed illegally in January 2017, the department said in the Dec. 27 news release. The photo was provided with the release.
So, when the hunter’s story “aroused the suspicions” of the wildlife officer, an investigation into the kill began.
“(Two officers) located the kill site for the mountain lion and interviewed the hunter, confirming suspicions that the hunter lied to CPW staff regarding details of his mountain lion hunt and association with (Andrew) Pashley,” the release states.
Pashley, 35, of Evergreen, Colorado, is a man who Colorado wildlife officials had been investigating “for years,” according to the release. Those investigations started after reports of illegal hunting and illegal outfitting. The man is not, and never was, a registered outfitter in the state.
Registered and legal outfitters take people on guided hunts while following all laws, according to the Colorado Outfitters Association’s Code of Ethics.
Following the story of the killed mountain lion, officers got a search warrant for Pashley’s home in Evergreen, and it was executed in February 2017, according to the news release. While in the home, officers found and seized “illegally possessed wildlife, cash that Pashley accepted for providing illegal outfitter services to hunters, Pashley’s truck and additional evidence of Pashley’s illegal outfitting activities.”
Through that evidence and follow-up interviews, officials were able to prove that Pashley accepted $3,000 in cash from another Colorado man for his illegal and unregistered outfitting services, the release states.
“Illegal and unethical actions like what Mr. Pashley participated in put a black eye on hunters, outfitters and houndsmen,” CPW Wildlife Officer Joe Nicholson said in the release. “Pashley’s actions are those of a poacher, not a hunter, and it is good to bring somebody like Pashley to justice.”
On Nov. 8, Pashley pleaded guilty to the illegal sale of big game wildlife and illegal possession of a mountain lion, the release states. The judge sentenced him to two years of probation, and Pashley is now suspended from hunting, fishing and trapping in Colorado. Pashley is also prohibited from possessing a firearm or weapon, including for hunting.
The hunter who presented the mountain lion for the inspection accepted a plea deal to testify against Pashley in the trial, the release states. That hunter also pleaded guilty to hunting on private property without permission, illegal possession of a mountain lion and using an illegal method of hunting.
The judge sentenced the hunter to a one-year probation, and the hunter cannot hunt, fish or trap in Colorado for one year.
Both Pashley and the hunter are eligible for a hunting suspension in 47 other states after a hearing with CPW’s suspension hearing examiner, the release states.
Colorado mountain lion hunting is legal during the season in certain areas of the state, the Denver Post reported. The hunter must have purchased a hunting license.
This story was originally published December 30, 2018 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Suspicious story about huge mountain lion helps capture Colorado poacher, officials say."