Marvin Doherty was handed a deferred four-year sentence and ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars after he and four employees led unwitting clients on illegal hunts. (iStock)
Multiple employees of a Colorado outfitter have come to an agreement with a Colorado District Attorney’s Office after being pleading guilty to numerous illegal hunting practices during the 2016 and 2017 hunting seasons.
Marvin Doherty, the 70-year-old owner of Outdoor Specialist LLC in Hayden, pleaded guilty to illegal sale of wildlife, illegal possession of big-game animals, and illegally baiting big-game after Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) say he and four employees led unwitting clients on illegal hunts in public wildlife areas despite only having licenses valid for private hunts, according to a new release issued by the CPW.
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CPW officials say the men were also guilty of trespassing and harvesting wildlife illegally, specifically elk.
Doherty was handed a four-year deferred sentence — and also banned from hunting for four years — and agreed to pay a $20,000 donation to a wildlife violation hotline. He, along with the four other men identified as co-conspirators, including his son, were ordered to pay additional fines totaling $16,842.
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"They committed numerous crimes including manipulating the system by purchasing licenses available over-the-counter, then used them where they were not supposed to," said CPW Wildlife Officer Evan Jones in the news release. "Because of this, their clients illegally harvested numerous elk on public land, taking the opportunity away from legal, public land hunters. We are very satisfied with having brought this activity to an end."
The clients that were led on the hunting excursions will not be charged.
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Doherty also faces losing his outfitters license, and all five of the men may face further restrictions on their individual hunting licenses, the CPW said.
"They thought they could get away with it due to the remoteness of their location," added CPW Officer Johnathan Lambert. "They thought wrong."