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August 15, 2006 Minneapolis, Minnesota - Country singer
Troy Lee Gentry appeared today in federal court in connection with
the illegal killing and tagging of a tame black bear. Gentry, age
39, of Franklin, Tennessee, and Lee Marvin Greenly, age 46, of
Sandstone, Minnesota, made their initial appearances this morning
before U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson in Duluth, Minnesota.
Both men have been indicted for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act
by falsely tagging a tame black bear as killed in the wild. The
Indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Minneapolis on July
25, 2006, was sealed pending Gentry and Greenly’s appearance in
court today.
The Indictment states that in October of 2004, Greenly sold a tame,
trophy-caliber black bear named “Cubby” to Gentry for approximately
$4,650. The bear was one of several tame animals housed by Greenly
for use in his wildlife photography business. Following the sale,
Gentry allegedly killed the captive-reared bear with a bow and arrow
while the bear was enclosed in a pen on Greenly’s property. Greenly
and Gentry then allegedly tagged the bear with a Minnesota hunting
license and registered the animal with the Minnesota Department of
Natural Resources as if it had been killed in the wild. The animal’s
hide was subsequently shipped to a taxidermist in Kentucky for
mounting. The bear’s demise was videotaped, and later that tape was
allegedly edited so Gentry would appear to kill the animal in a
“fair chase” hunting situation.
The Indictment also charged Greenly with two additional violations
of the Lacey Act relative to his work as a licensed commercial bear
guide. According to the Indictment, Greenly and his employees guided
some commercial hunting clients onto the Sandstone National Wildlife
Refuge, where it is illegal to hunt black bear. There, the
Indictment alleges, Greenly had unlawfully established and
maintained multiple bear-baiting stations and hunting stands. Then,
between August 29, 2005, and September 8, 2005, Greenly or his
employees allegedly guided two clients into the area, where one of
them shot and killed two black bear.
If convicted, both Gentry and Greenly face a maximum potential
penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine for
falsely labeling a tame black bear as if it had been killed in the
wild. Greenly also faces a maximum potential penalty of five years
in prison and a $20,000 fine on each of the two other charges filed
against him. Any sentences will be determined by a judge. Both
Gentry and Greenly have been released on a personal recognizance
bond pending their next court appearance.
This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States
Attorney Michael A. Dees.
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