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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Hunter guilty of baiting bears near Methow cabin

In this trail camera photo, a black bear is lured to what police say is a bait pile at a Methow Valley cabin site.
In this trail camera photo, a black bear is lured to what police say is a bait pile at a Methow Valley cabin site.

POACHING -- A Western Washington man has pleaded guilty to 14 counts of luring bears with doughnuts, salmon and other bait so they could be killed for fun by himself and family from the porch of his Methow Valley recreation cabin.

James Erickson, 52, of Eatonville, Wash., has been sentenced to six days in jail on top of a $12,000 fine and 20 days electronically monitored detention at his home. He'll also loose his state hunting privileges for five years. As part of the plea deal, charges against others were dropped.

The case was sealed after years of investigation after Fish and Wildlife police received a tip that led to a remote trail cam with photos that caught Erickson in the act.

See the story and photos from the investigation that led to the arrest.



Rich Landers
Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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