RENO (AP) — Three Nevada men have been convicted of illegally poaching a bear in what the state's chief game warden described as a "disgusting" thrill-killing.
Each of the three men from Dayton were fined $5,000 last week and ordered to turn over their firearms.
Nevada Department of Wildlife Game Warden Tyler Turnipseed said Monday Daniel Rubio, Elisio Rubio Sr. and Elisio Rubio Jr. were accused of conspiring for nearly a year to kill the bear outside its den in the Pinenut Mountains near Dayton in February 2017.
He says they approached the den from three different angles on the mountain and shot the animal multiple times.
Turnipseed says they "basically ambushed" the bear in mid-winter "just for the thrill of killing it."
He says none of the men has ever owned a hunting license or a big game tag.
