A Utah man has pleaded guilty to all three counts of an indictment charging him with poaching a trophy seven-by-eight-point bull elk in Yellowstone National Park.
U.S. Attorney David Freudenthal said Chad Beus, 24, of Salt Lake City, pleaded guilty Monday in the shooting of the elk in September 1993.One of the counts charged Beus with the unlawful acquisition and transportation of elk antlers, while another charged him with unlawfully trying to corrupt a witness.
Freudenthal said the third count asked that Beus forfeit the rifle and scope he used to kill the elk.
In a plea bargain, Beus agreed to a recommended sentence of $30,075 in fines, restitution and special assessments, Freudenthal said.
In exchange, Freudenthal said the federal government agreed not to oppose Beus' confinement through alternative means, such as home confinement with electronic monitoring.
The fine and a potential prison sentence won't actually be imposed until a presentence investigation is completed. Such an investigation normally takes one or two months, and a judge can alter the sentences agreed to in a plea bargain based on the results of the investigation.