BigHornRam
Well-known member
By JIM MANN
The Daily Inter Lake
Man with history of hunting convictions faces 17 new charges
The Sanders County attorney is pursuing multiple wildlife and illegal outfitting charges against a Plains man with a history of similar offenses.
Jerry Marjerrison voluntarily appeared Tuesday with his attorney in Sanders County District Court, entering innocent pleas to 16 misdemeanor charges and one felony.
He is charged with eight counts of acting as an outfitter or guide without a license, two counts of transporting unlawfully taken wildlife, one charge of unlawful use of dogs for hunting, two counts of wasting a game animal, two counts of failure to tag a big-game animal, a charge of illegally transferring a hunting license and the felony charge of possessing illegally taken wildlife.
Separately, Marjerrison pleaded guilty in July to three federal counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He’s scheduled for sentencing Thursday on those felony charges in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Lee Anderson, the regional warden captain for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said it is one of the bigger cases of its kind in Western Montana.
Michael Sherwood, the Missoula attorney representing Marjerrison, declined to comment on the case, other than saying “it would be unethical for either party to make an extrajudicial pretrial comment on this case.”
The state charges are outlined in an affidavit filed by Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman that alleges illegal outfitting activities dating back to 2001.
Although most of the charges are minor individually, they are significant collectively, Anderson said.
The case was built largely through an undercover operation over a six-month period in 2004, plus an additional two months of follow-up work. Three search warrants were executed, resulting in the seizure of multiple mounts, hides and antlers that recently were photographed for evidence purposes.
“There have been four people who have already been charged in relation to this case,” said Warden Brian Sommers, who was involved in the investigation. All four pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hiring the services of an unlicensed outfitter.
Those cases led to the charges against Marjerrison.
“Jerry Marjerrison is at the top of the pyramid,” Anderson said. “He is the main focus.”
The undercover work involved two officers with the state Justice Department’s Criminal Investigative Section. The affidavit cites checks totaling $4,500 paid to Marjerrison to guide the undercover officers on a bear hunt and a separate deer and elk hunt in 2004.
It wasn’t the first time Marjerrison had taken officers posing as hunters into the field. He was at the center of a poaching ring involving more than 10 people who were convicted after a 1981 investigation that spanned several states.
That case was recounted in detail in the June 1984 edition of Montana Outdoors magazine. According to the article, “Montana Sting,” Marjerrison had previously been arrested for a game law violation, with the result of losing his outfitters license and his hunting and fishing privileges.
He continued to lead hunts without a license, including outings with undercover law-enforcement officers that led to him and three other Montana men being arrested.
“Marjerrison bragged about his $300 fine and loss of hunting and fishing privileges,” the magazine reported. “The way he figured, he said, the Montana Fish and Game owed him a ‘buck’ for every buck he had been fined; he had killed 12 in the last two years, so he still had 288 coming.”
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently has ramped up efforts to fight poaching and other wildlife crimes.
“We want people to see this stuff,” Anderson said. “The key is awareness. If we can get people to help us out, that’s how we get the vast majority of these cases.”
The misdemeanor charges carry fines ranging from $50 to $1,000 and possible jail sentences. The felony charge carries a maximum fine of $50,000 and/or a maximum five-year prison sentence. Marjerrison also could lose his hunting, fishing and trapping rights in Montana for as little as three years or as long as the rest of his life.
Fred Miller of the Clark Fork Valley Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at [email protected]
The Daily Inter Lake
Man with history of hunting convictions faces 17 new charges
The Sanders County attorney is pursuing multiple wildlife and illegal outfitting charges against a Plains man with a history of similar offenses.
Jerry Marjerrison voluntarily appeared Tuesday with his attorney in Sanders County District Court, entering innocent pleas to 16 misdemeanor charges and one felony.
He is charged with eight counts of acting as an outfitter or guide without a license, two counts of transporting unlawfully taken wildlife, one charge of unlawful use of dogs for hunting, two counts of wasting a game animal, two counts of failure to tag a big-game animal, a charge of illegally transferring a hunting license and the felony charge of possessing illegally taken wildlife.
Separately, Marjerrison pleaded guilty in July to three federal counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He’s scheduled for sentencing Thursday on those felony charges in U.S. District Court in Missoula.
Lee Anderson, the regional warden captain for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said it is one of the bigger cases of its kind in Western Montana.
Michael Sherwood, the Missoula attorney representing Marjerrison, declined to comment on the case, other than saying “it would be unethical for either party to make an extrajudicial pretrial comment on this case.”
The state charges are outlined in an affidavit filed by Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman that alleges illegal outfitting activities dating back to 2001.
Although most of the charges are minor individually, they are significant collectively, Anderson said.
The case was built largely through an undercover operation over a six-month period in 2004, plus an additional two months of follow-up work. Three search warrants were executed, resulting in the seizure of multiple mounts, hides and antlers that recently were photographed for evidence purposes.
“There have been four people who have already been charged in relation to this case,” said Warden Brian Sommers, who was involved in the investigation. All four pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of hiring the services of an unlicensed outfitter.
Those cases led to the charges against Marjerrison.
“Jerry Marjerrison is at the top of the pyramid,” Anderson said. “He is the main focus.”
The undercover work involved two officers with the state Justice Department’s Criminal Investigative Section. The affidavit cites checks totaling $4,500 paid to Marjerrison to guide the undercover officers on a bear hunt and a separate deer and elk hunt in 2004.
It wasn’t the first time Marjerrison had taken officers posing as hunters into the field. He was at the center of a poaching ring involving more than 10 people who were convicted after a 1981 investigation that spanned several states.
That case was recounted in detail in the June 1984 edition of Montana Outdoors magazine. According to the article, “Montana Sting,” Marjerrison had previously been arrested for a game law violation, with the result of losing his outfitters license and his hunting and fishing privileges.
He continued to lead hunts without a license, including outings with undercover law-enforcement officers that led to him and three other Montana men being arrested.
“Marjerrison bragged about his $300 fine and loss of hunting and fishing privileges,” the magazine reported. “The way he figured, he said, the Montana Fish and Game owed him a ‘buck’ for every buck he had been fined; he had killed 12 in the last two years, so he still had 288 coming.”
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recently has ramped up efforts to fight poaching and other wildlife crimes.
“We want people to see this stuff,” Anderson said. “The key is awareness. If we can get people to help us out, that’s how we get the vast majority of these cases.”
The misdemeanor charges carry fines ranging from $50 to $1,000 and possible jail sentences. The felony charge carries a maximum fine of $50,000 and/or a maximum five-year prison sentence. Marjerrison also could lose his hunting, fishing and trapping rights in Montana for as little as three years or as long as the rest of his life.
Fred Miller of the Clark Fork Valley Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by e-mail at [email protected]
