Federal Jury Indicts Three For Poaching

A federal grand jury in Spokane has indicted three Colville men in the poaching of a mountain caribou last December.

Narron Drury, 28, will be charged with killing the animal, a violation of the Endangered Species Act. Drury will also be charged with illegally transporting the carcass, authorities said.

James Sgueglia, 31, and Larry Krotzer, 42, will each be charged with illegal transport, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The indictment was handed down Wednesday. The expected charges are misdemeanors, punishable by up to a year in jail.

“Mountain caribou are the most endangered large mammal in the United States,” said Madonna Luers of the Fish and Wildlife Department.

Luers said about 70 caribou live in the Selkirk Mountains of northeastern Washington, North Idaho and southern British Columbia.

Fish and Wildlife is currently leading an interagency effort to boost the population by capturing caribou in British Columbia for transplant to the Selkirks.

Last month, 13 caribou were released in Pend Orielle County. Nineteen were transplanted last year, Luers said.

One of the 19 was the adult cow allegedly killed by Drury. A Fish and Wildlife worker found the slain caribou’s radio-transmitter collar a mile northwest of Northport in Stevens County.

“Since the caribou had substantial antlers, the collar could not have slipped over its head,” Luers said. , DataTimes