Couple faces 20 felony charges
Nick Ianniello
Mineral Independent
A Superior couple pleaded not guilty at their initial court appearances in front of Judge John Larson on poaching and other related charges during Mineral County District Court in Superior the morning of Jan. 11.
Blair and Richard Carr face 20 different felony charges combined for, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officers, illegally running an outfitting business out of their Superior home.
The couple has been charged with multiple counts of unlawful possession of game animals, outfitting without a license and unlawful transfer of a big game license.
Each count of felony count of unlawful possession of game animals and outfitting without a license carries a maximum penalty of five years in a Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine while unlawful loan or transfer of a big game license carries a maximum penalty of six months in the Mineral County Jail and a $1,000 fine.
Richard Carr has been charged with six felonies and six misdemeanors that carry a total maximum penalty of 30 years in a Montana State Prison, four years in the Mineral County Jail and a fine of up to $304,000.
Blair Carr has been charged with three felonies and five misdemeanors that have a maximum penalty of 15 years in a Montana State Prison, four years in the Mineral County Jail and a maximum fine of $155,000.
Both Richard and Blair Carr stand to lose their hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for the rest of their lives as well.
According to a press release from the Mineral County Attorney’s office, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officers investigated the Carr’s for over a year before charging them for illegally operating an outfitting business called the Just Killing Time Hunter’s Retreat.
The affidavit filed by Mineral County Attorney Shaun Donovan states that Mineral County Fish, Wildlife and Parks Game Warden Mike Fegely requested assistance in investigating the Carrs in August of 2007.
During the next several months, Fegely and other wardens and investigators from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks learned that during the 2006 and 2007 hunting seasons the Carrs had hosted individuals at their residence that had come to Montana to hunt deer or elk.
They also learned that Richard Carr had accompanied these people into the field and had obtained big game hunting licenses for them that were illegal because they failed to comply with the regulations surrounding the issuance of a hunting license in Montana.
Investigators also learned that the Carrs had accepted payments for as much as $1,500 per week for providing food, housing and guiding services to out-of-state hunters, which under Montana guidelines constitutes “outfitting.”
In November of 2008, two undercover Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks investigators arranged to use the Carr’s guiding services for $1,500 “per shooter.”
While being guided by Richard Carr, the two undercover investigators observed that he had in his truck a roll of unvalidated big game licenses that had been issued to Troy Jaggers and Blair Carr.
Conversations with Carr during the two investigator’s hunting expeditions also implicated the couple in illegal guiding and outfitting activities.
Investigators then obtained a warrant to search the Carr’s home and on Nov. 26, 2008 they found a freshly killed whitetail buck with a tag on it that had been validated as much as three week earlier, along with other evidence of animals being improperly tagged and evidence of the sex of killed animals having been unlawfully removed.
Investigators also found two whitetail does and two whitetail bucks that had been killed by Richard Carr but tagged with tags issued to Blair Carr, Troy Jaggers and Phillip Fenn. There were also remains of a bull elk that was killed in 2006 by Richard Carr and tagged with an in-state license that was invalid because in 2006 Carr did not fulfill residency requirement for the State of Montana.
The Carrs’ next court appearance will be April 9 in Mineral County District Court in Superior.