Troy man to appeal prison sentence after grizzly killing

A Troy man who pleaded guilty to charges related to the killing of a grizzly bear and was sentenced last week said he plans to appeal.

Othel Lee Pearson, 80, pleaded guilty in February to tampering with evidence and failing to report the killing of a grizzly bear, a threatened animal protected under the Endangered Species Act.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Pearson was sentenced on Tuesday, June 11, by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy to two months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Molloy also ordered that Pearson serve four months of house arrest after his incarceration, followed by three years of probation. In addition, the court ordered Pearson to surrender a .270 Winchester repeating rifle with a scope that he used to kill the grizzly bear and that had been seized from his home. The court allowed Pearson to self-report to prison.

Pearson spoke to The Western News on Monday and said he felt disrespected by Judge Molloy.

“I have never been spoken to like Judge Molloy,” Pearson said. “I feel like they would rather come and get my body and my wife’s body than the bear.”

Pearson has not yet been required to report to prison and said he intends to appeal the verdict.

In a settlement agreement filed as part of the case, the government and the defendant agreed to jointly recommend to the court a sentence of three years’ probation and a fine of $8,000, which is the amount of compensation under Montana state law for the illegal killing of a grizzly bear.

“I gave my information to the U.S. Marshall’s office, but I was not told where or when. There was discussion of going to Sheridan, Oregon, or to the county jails in Missoula or Mineral County,” Pearson said.

Pearson said he acted in self-defense.

“I measured it at 6’6″,” Pearson said. “After I shot it, I didn’t know what to do, so I cut it into pieces and put it in the freezer.”

Pearson also provided The Western News with a copy of a court document that his attorney, Sarah M. Lockwood of Tipp Coburn Lockwood, PC, presented to Judge Molloy prior to sentencing.

In it, the attorneys argued that the deal should be honored because Pearson is a first-time offender and had led a law-abiding life before the gruesome shooting. Among other things, the plea agreement mentions that Pearson coaches youth sports, works as a college professor, and is a family man who has raised four successful children with his wife of 62 years, Marcia.

It was also said that he took his grandchildren on outdoor adventures during the summer because his son, a doctor, suffers from end-stage multiple sclerosis, and that the couple cared for their grandson when one of his daughters was diagnosed with cancer.

This includes a letter from his work file from Round Valley High School in Arizona, dated December 1, 1966. It states: “Mr. Pearson has proven, like no other, that he is the teacher we are all looking for.”

It also mentions an incident in the Sierra Nevada mountains where Pearson helped his wife escape an off-grid cabin fire by lowering her from a second-story window with a rope.

It was also argued that Pearson’s criminal actions “arise not from malice or malice, but from fear and ignorance of the responsibility he had to the community when he killed a protected species. Othel was never one to turn to the government for help with things happening on his private property.

Pearson now lives in Troy.

Pearson faced a maximum sentence of 20 years for witness tampering, while six months is the maximum sentence for failing to report a grizzly bear hunt. The total penalty could have been $275,000.

In exchange for a guilty plea, the United States agrees not to prosecute any other person in connection with the grizzly bear abduction. Pearson also agrees to cooperate with the United States regarding the skull of a second grizzly bear that was found on Kootenai National Forest land near his property.

Federal law requires anyone who kills a grizzly bear to report the incident within five days.

“As alleged, Pearson placed a GPS collar on a grizzly bear and hid the bear’s claws and an ear tag in order to avoid criminal prosecution for the wrongful killing of a grizzly bear. Such conduct is illegal and, as demonstrated here, will result in criminal prosecution for a federal crime,” said U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

The investigation began on November 23, 2020, after a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden contacted U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Special Agent Mona Iannelli about a dead female grizzly bear that had been dumped on Pipe Creek Road a few miles south of Yaak.

In the probable cause affidavit, Iannelli wrote that the bear had been killed elsewhere and dumped where it was discovered. She reported that the animal had been partially skinned and was missing two body parts and paws. She also saw tire and boot tracks at the scene that are believed to be related to the incident.

Iannelli learned that the bear had a microchip, a GPS collar, two white button-shaped ear tags and a lip tattoo for identification. The collar was missing but was later found in the Yaak River. The ear tags and lip tattoo had also been cut out of the bear.

A little over a week later, on December 2, 2022, a Fish & Wildlife Service biologist found the missing GPS collar in the Yaak River along Yaak River Road and recovered it the next day. The collar had been cut and the GPS functionality destroyed.

Despite the loss of function, federal biologists were still able to download data from the collar, including location tracking, activity sensor data and temperature sensor data. This information suggests the bear died at around 8:55 p.m. on November 19, 2020, about 125 feet from Pearson’s home on his property outside of Troy.

State wildlife biologist Wayne Kasworm confirmed that the bear was killed in the yaak where Pearson formerly lived.

When Special Agent Iannelli and other law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on Pearson’s residence on December 16, 2020, the defendant denied knowledge of the murder.

According to the indictment, the search revealed a wealth of evidence.

Agents found red snow on the ground about 100 feet from what they called a “shooting room” attached to Pearson’s residence. The windows had been removed so a person could shoot at wildlife from the room. They opened onto various bait sites on Pearson’s property that were within close shooting range.

The search also found numerous items associated with wildlife baiting on the property, including several empty bags of deer feed, feeders hanging from trees, salt shakers, and a spent .270 caliber rifle cartridge in the shed.

Agents also found blood and tissue samples in Pearson’s apartment, as well as a bag of meat from Pearson’s freezer labeled “ham.” Forensic analysis later determined that all of it belonged to the slain bear.

Additionally, a neighbor told agents on the day of the search that Pearson told him he shot the bear with his .270 rifle. Agents recovered a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight, .270 caliber repeating rifle.

About 17 months later, more evidence of the alleged illegal killing surfaced when someone was hiking on Kootenai National Forest land adjacent to Pearson’s and found a garbage bag containing grizzly bear body parts in a hollowed-out tree. Inside the bag were 10 grizzly claws and an ear tag belonging to the same bear killed on Pearson’s property, according to court documents.