News

April 30, 2010

W-B man found guilty of illegally killing ‘trophy class’ bear

Charles W. Olsen Jr. ordered to pay $6,800 for illegally killing 707-pound bruin.

By Andrew M. Seder aseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Andrew M. Seder on Facebook   |   @TLAndrewSeder on Twitter

TUNKHANNOCK – Charles W. Olsen Jr., 39, of Wilkes-Barre, was found guilty Thursday of illegally killing a 707-pound “trophy class” bear over bait during the 2009 hunting season.

District Judge Carl Smith, of Tunkhannock, found Olsen guilty of unlawfully killing a bear, for which he fined Olsen $1,500, and of hunting over bait, for which he fined Olsen $300. In addition, Smith assessed Olsen with a $5,000 restitution penalty because the bear was considered “trophy-class,” which means that it exceeded a field-dressed weight of 350 pounds.

This was the first time someone has been sentenced under the guidelines of the two-year-old Game Commission regulation regarding restitution for illegally taking a trophy class bear.

In addition to the fines and restitution, Olsen also stands to lose his hunting and trapping privileges for at least three years, according to a release from the state Game Commission.

The case began in November when Luzerne County Wildlife Conservation Officer Cory Bentzoni became suspicious when he saw a truck loaded with pastries on Route 309 in Dallas.

“It was about one week from the opening of the statewide bear season, and I thought that something illegal might be under way,” Bentzoni said. “Being that we were so close to bear season, seeing that person drive by with an unusual amount of pastries was like watching an individual go down a row of parked vehicles testing each handle to see if it were would open. Something just didn’t seem right.”

“However, as ‘possession of pastries’ is not an unlawful offense, there was no probable cause that would have permitted me to pull him over and question him, so I did the only thing I could,” Bentzoni said. “I wrote down the truck’s license plate number, found that it was registered to Olsen and then instructed all Game Commission personnel operating bear check stations throughout the region to notify me if Olsen brought a bear into one of the check stations.”

On Nov. 25, on the last day of the three-day season, Olsen brought a bear with an estimated live weight of 707 pounds into the bear check station at the Northeast Region Office in Dallas. Wildlife Conservation Officer Vic Rosa, of Wyoming County, was immediately contacted by the Northeast Region Office, since Olsen reportedly harvested the bear in Noxen Township.

According to information provided by the commission, Northeast Region Land Management Supervisor Peter Sussenbach approached Olsen and told him, “There may be a problem with this bear.” At that point, Olsen confessed he had killed the bear over a bait pile, according to the Game Commission.

“What is most unfortunate is that law-abiding bear hunters in the area were robbed of the opportunity to legally harvest truly a trophy bear by fair chase means,” said regional Law Enforcement Supervisor Dan Figured. “It was thanks to the quick thinking of an observant wildlife conservation officer, and some basic investigative work, that helped resolve this case.”

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