Two Montana men charged with illegally killing a brown bear in Alaska [Video]

The following is a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging two men with illegally killing a brown bear on a national wildlife refuge in Alaska, violating the Lacey Act.

According to court documents, between May 9 to May 12, 2022, Richard McAtee, 46, and Arlon Franz, 51, both of Montana, conspired together to possess and transport a brown bear that they illegally killed in the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge. McAtee was arrested Wednesday night in Montana.

The indictment alleges that one of the men was a nonresident hunting without a contract with a master guide, and that the bear was shot and killed before the legal season to hunt brown bear had opened and the same day the hunter had been airborne, in violation of state and federal laws. It also alleges …