RENO, Nev. (AP) - A father and his two sons have been convicted of illegally poaching a bear in what the state’s chief game warden described as a “disgusting” thrill-killing.
The men from Dayton, Nevada, were fined $5,000 last week and ordered to turn over their firearms.
Nevada Department of Wildlife Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed said Monday 58-year-old Elisio Rubio Sr. and his sons - 37-year-old Elisio Rubio Jr. and 28-year-old Daniel Rubio - were found guilty of conspiring for nearly a year to kill the bear outside its den in the Pinenut Mountains near Dayton.
He says they approached the den from three different angles on the mountain and shot the animal multiple times in February 2017.
Turnipseed says they “basically ambushed” the bear in mid-winter “just for the thrill of killing it.”
He says none of the men has ever owned a hunting license or a big game tag.
As convicted felons, they’re now prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm.
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