Poachers sentenced at Law Day

WALLACE – The first Shoshone County Law Day of July had District Judge Scott Wayman addressing the criminal cases of roughly 30 individuals this week.

Among the many cases heard on July 10 were those of Leonard Tomaskin Jr. and David Bell. Both men were facing separate poaching related crimes that were committed in the southern parts of Shoshone County.

On April 17, Tomaskin had been found guilty by a Shoshone County jury of unlawfully killing big game animals in excess of $1,000 in reimbursable damages, one misdemeanor count of hunting big game animals without a license, four misdemeanor counts of hunting big game animals without tags, two misdemeanor counts of possessing unlawfully taken big game animals and one misdemeanor count of failing to make reasonable efforts to retrieve wounded big game.

These charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on Oct. 27, 2017, in the Clarkia area of Shoshone County that included illegally killing two calf moose and a whitetail deer doe.

Prior to the closing arguments and sentencing on Wednesday, the court heard testimony from Micah Ellstrom, a regional wildlife biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, who discussed the impact that Moose have Idaho, from an ecological standpoint all the way to how they are economically beneficial.

Shoshone County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Benjamin Allen used Ellstrom’s testimony to drive home the point that Tomaskin’s actions had significant ripple effects across the state.

“This case is of particular importance to the court as a fish and game case and those reasons were hopefully notable and evident through the Fish & Game biologist’s presentation to the court,” Allen stated. “What really stood out in the PSI (pre-sentence investigation) interview the most was the lack of remorse from the defendant. Or needless to say, the ongoing disregard for our state and our country’s wildlife laws that are structured and formed for a purpose.”

During his trial, the defense attorney Peter Smith had attempted to use a treaty rights defense and alleged that his client’s conduct was lawful under the Treaty of the Yakamas of 1855 between the Yakama Nation and the United States of America. By asserting this defense, Smith put forth the argument that the conduct of the defendant was irrelevant for purposes of Idaho Laws because if the defendant was hunting pursuant to his treaty rights, Idaho’s fish & game laws would not apply to him.

However, the prosecution was quick to point out that the law is clear and the treaty rights of the Yakama Nation do not extend into Idaho, and stating in their closing arguments, “If this defendant wishes to hunt in the state of Idaho, he can abide by the same rules and regulations that every other Idaho citizen has to.”

Judge Wayman agreed with the prosecution in this matter, but also credited Tomaskin’s honesty throughout the investigation, as well as his lack of a criminal record prior to sentencing.

For the felony charge, Tomaskin received 30 days in the Shoshone County Jail, two years supervised probation, 100 hours of community service, a 10-year revocation of his hunting license, and $5,475 in restitution.

For the misdemeanor charges (eight in total) Tomaskin received 30 days in Shoshone County Jail (served concurrently with the other 30-day sentence), as well as a $300 fine for each of the charges.

In the other poaching case of David Bell, an agreement was finally reached between the two parties which involved the defendant pleading guilty to two of the Fish and Game violations her was facing.

Bell and his son, Francis “Frank” Bell, were taken into custody on Oct. 21, 2017, upon the completion of a nearly three-week long operation in which two undercover IDFG operatives posed as poachers and passively participated in an unlawful guided hunt in and around Avery.

In an affidavit requesting arrest warrants, submitted by IDFG Senior Conservation Officer, David Overman, the case against Francis Bell and David Bell began on Oct. 3 when the Special Investigations Unit contacted Francis Bell through email and phone to book a elk hunt for two individuals.

IDFG initially began the investigation after receiving reports that Francis Bell was working as a guide without a license.

For a total of $3,000 ($1,500 per person), Francis Bell agreed to take them, along with two other adult males from eastern Europe.

The alleged deal was that Francis would provide “a hunting location, a cabin, a base camp, a remote back country camp, a wall tent, sleeping tents, food, a camp cook and wood cutter, the use of stock to transport gear, and detailed locations of animals” to the operatives.

David Bell, who served as the camp cook and provider of transportation, also received $1,800 of the $3,000 for the use of his home in Avery.

After posting bail following their first arraignment in November 2017, both the Bells failed to appear for future court appearances and as a result, a bench warrant was issued. David Bell was later apprehended in 2019, while Francis Bell remains at large.

David Bell had initially plead not guilty to the myriad of wildlife-related charges including one felony and five misdemeanors. With his recent change in plea, Judge Wayman handed down a sentence on Wednesday of 180 days of jail total (27 days of that imposed and 153 days suspended), $600 in total fine & court costs, $4,790.48 in restitutions and a two-year period of unsupervised probation.