| 1/29/2009 9:16:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Hawn sentenced to jail for bison deaths
By Mike Potter- The Fairplay Flume
Texas businessman Jeff Hawn was sentenced Jan. 28 to 10 days in Park County Jail for arranging the killing in March of 32 bison owned by Hartsel rancher Monte Downare.
Hawn was sentenced in 11th Judicial District Court in Fairplay by District Judge Stephen Groome.
Hawn pleaded guilty Nov. 2 as part of a plea bargain and requested time to complete community service and pay restitution and fines before being sentenced.
He pleaded guilty to one count of felony criminal mischief and one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. The plea bargain stipulated 10 days as maximum jail time Hawn would serve.
He will serve five consecutive days beginning Feb. 2. He will be released during the weekend and will begin serving the other five days beginning Feb. 9. His release date will be Feb. 13. Hawn will serve two years of unsupervised probation.
Handing down the sentence, Groome said he believed there was evidence many bison suffered at hands of the hunters and he found that disturbing.
The judge called Hawn's 10-day sentence, "a bargain. If I could sentence you to more time, I probably would."
Groome said he based his sentence upon gravity of the situation and because it appeared many bison suffered before they died.
Hawn, chief executive officer of Attachmate Corporation of Seattle, Wash., remained quiet beside his defense attorney, Pamela Mackey of Denver for much of the hearing. He made a brief statement offering his regret.
"I'm really sorry for all this," he said.
He shouldered full responsibility for death of the animals and said he wouldn't let anyone pay for his mistake. "The buck stops here with me."
Tracy Downare, wife of Monte Downare, read a statement saying death of their animals took a toll on her family and the court needed to send a clear message unlawful slaughter of animals wouldn't be tolerated in Park County.
Fighting tears, she described the scene of the dead bison to the judge.
"They suffered," she said. "We feel that at least he deserves the 10 days in jail."
Two Park County Animal Control Officers addressed the judge, as did Brice Lewis, a brand inspector serving most of Park County.
Park County Animal Control Cpl. Bobbi Priestly described the dead bison scene, saying it was unlike anything she had ever seen.
"The massacre of the buffalo was one of the most horrific cases I've had to investigate."
She said there were as many as five or six bullet holes in many of the bison and as few as two in others.
There was evidence, she said, including a cartridge casing from a high-powered rifle, connecting Hawn to death of a number of bison.
She also requested Hawn receive the maximum 10 days in jail under the plea bargain.
John and Roberta Norman, Hawn ranch caretakers, told the court that death of the bison was one of the only things Hawn could do to protect his property and the people on it.
Reading from a prepared statement, John Norman told the court he and his wife feared for their safety with bison roaming the land. He described parking cars in strategic locations and leaving doors unlocked in case a bison charged him or his wife.
Their daily lives were interrupted by presence of the animals, he said, adding, "We were prisoners to the ranch. We were hostages of the bison."
Roberta Norman said threat of a bison attack kept them from using the property and made living there difficult.
"Jeff feared for the safety of his friends and family," she said.
She said Hawn made the call to kill the animals only after pleading with the Bureau of Land Management, Park County Sheriff's Office and the Downares.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Thursday, January 29, 2009
Article comment by:
Jerry Higgins
what a waste, 32 bison could have fed a lot of hungry people.
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