Montana
80-Year-Old Montana Man Gets Two Months In Jail For Killing Grizzly, Evidence Tampering
A federal judge Tuesday sentenced an 80-year-old man to two months in jail for covering up the shooting of a grizzly bear on his property four years ago.
Othel Lee Pearson, 80, of Troy, Montana, also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine in his federal case of failing to report the taking of a grizzly bear and evidence tampering.
Pearson pleaded guilty to both charges in February. His defense attorney has argued that he acted in self-defense when shooting the bear, but that he takes responsibility for trying to hide the act.
That’s Not Ham
The investigation started Nov. 23, 2020, when a warden with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) found a dead grizzly sow dumped on Pipe Creek Road south of Yaak, Montana. The carcass appeared to have been killed elsewhere.
The bear was partially skinned, missing two quarters and paws, says an evidentiary affidavit by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Mona Iannelli.
The bear had been microchipped and had a GPS collar, but the collar was gone. The bear’s two ear tags and lip tattoo had been cut from its carcass.
Iannelli sent the bear to the FWP lab for a necropsy.
Data from the bear’s GPS collar taken before it was killed showed the bear died at about 8:55 p.m. on Pearson’s property, 40 yards from his house.
Iannelli checked the state and federal wildlife agencies Dec. 14, 2020, and no one had reported killing the grizzly, says the affidavit.
Bearing a warrant, she and other agents searched Pearson’s home two days later and found a bag of meat in Pearson’s freezer labelled “ham,” which analysts later determined belonged to the grizzly bear.
Two years later, a hiker reportedly found a garbage bag containing the grizzly bear’s claws and ear tag on public land adjacent to Pearson’s property, the affidavit says.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Montana charged Pearson more than three years after the crime on Jan. 22, 2024.
Tougher Than Recommended
The judgment U.S. District Court Judge Donald W. Mollby, of Montana, handed down Tuesday was stiffer than the joint recommendation the defense and prosecution had agreed on prior.
Pearson’s attorney Sarah Lockwood and Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Tanner had both asked for a sentence of three years’ probation and $8,000 in fines.
Instead, Mollby sentenced Pearson to two months’ incarceration followed by three years’ probation, with $10,000 in fines.
At a maximum, Pearson could have faced 20 years and six months in prison for the two crimes.
‘Devoted Family Man’
In her sentencing memorandum urging the lesser sentence, Lockwood touted Pearson as an exemplary man.
These are his first criminal convictions. He excelled in academics and high school sports, earning a college scholarship to play football. He went on to coach youth sports and become a college professor, Lockwood wrote.
“Othel is most proud to be a devoted family man who has raised four successful children with his beloved wife of 62 years,” she added. “Othel is beloved by his family and friends, and he shows them all extraordinary kindness.”
Pearson and his wife “dropped everything” to help care for their grandson when their daughter was diagnosed with cancer. They help with their other grandchildren and take them on outdoor adventures, the memorandum says.
Lockwood told the court that Pearson once saved his wife from a house fire that destroyed their off-grid cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
‘No Other Choice’
Pearson had “no other choice” than to kill the apex predator on his land to defend his family, says the memorandum, adding that his only real crimes were the actions he took to cover up the killing, but that he’s not accustomed to turning to the government for help with “things that happen on his private property.”
He’s moved into downtown Troy, Montana, so that he doesn’t have to face such a situation again.
“He no longer has to carry a weapon to safely use the outhouse at night, or turn off the generator alone as he crunches through the snow trying to tune in for any threats with just one working ear,” Lockwood wrote.
Now barred from owning firearms as a convicted felon, he’s taken to gardening and long walks with his wife, she added.
That Works, Says Prosecutor
Tanner had agreed with Lockwood that Pearson should be given probation.
Tanner noted Pearson’s move into town, his advanced age and the fact that he’s reportedly sold all his guns.
The government chose to charge Pearson for not reporting the taking of a grizzly bear, rather than for unlawful taking of a grizzly bear, because it’s hard to prove a defendant didn’t act in self-defense when shooting a grizzly bear, says Tanner’s sentencing memorandum.
“To be sure, the defendant’s killing of the grizzly bear and his subsequent efforts to conceal the killing are serious offenses, especially considering the sensitivity of the Cabinet-Yaak grizzly bear population,” wrote the prosecutor. But Pearson showed “clear contrition” over his efforts to hide the killing.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from March 2 drawing
03-08-17-24-34, Star Ball: 06, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from March 2 drawing
06-12-19-29, Bonus: 11
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing
21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing
28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Everyone makes mistakes, even experienced professionals; a good reminder for the rest of us to learn from those mistakes. The motion in State v. Stroup starts off well in its initial pages (no case law hallucinations), but is then followed by several pages of two other motions, which I don’t think the lawyer was planning to file, and which appear to have been AI-generated: It begins with the “Below is concise motion language you can drop into …” language quoted above.
Griffen Smith (Missoulian) reported on the story, and included the prosecutor’s motion to strike that filing, on the grounds that it violates a local rule (3(G)) requiring disclosure of the use of generative AI:
The document does not include a generative artificial intelligence disclosure as required. However, page 7 begins as follows: “Below is concise motion language you can drop into a ‘Motion to Admit Mental-Disease Evidence and for Related Instructions’ keyed to 45-6-204, 45-6-201, and 4614-102. Adjust headings/captions to your local practice.” Page 10 states “Below is a full motion you can paste into your pleading, then adjust names, dates, and styles to fit local practice.” These pages also include several apparent hyperlinks to “ppl-ai-file-upload.s3.amazonaws,” “ppl-ai-fileupload.s3.amazonaws+1,” and others. The document includes what appears to be an attempt at a second case caption on page 12. It is not plausible on its face that any source other than generative AI would have created such language for a filed version of a brief….
There’s more in that filing, but here’s one passage:
While generative AI can be a useful tool for some purposes and may have greater application in the future, when used improperly, and without meaningful review, it can ultimately damage both the perception and the reality of the profession. One assumes that Mr. Stroup has had, or will at some point have, an opportunity to review the filing made on his behalf. What impression could a review of pgs. 12-19 leave upon a defendant who struggles with paranoia and delusional thinking? While AI could theoretically one day become a replacement for portions of staff of experienced attorneys, it is readily apparent that this day has not yet arrived.
The Missoulan article includes this response:
In a Wednesday interview, Office of Public Defender Division Administrator Brian Smith told the Missoulian the AI-generated language was inadvertently included in an unrelated filing. And he criticized the county attorney’s office for filing a “four-page diatribe about the dangers of AI” instead of working with the defense to correct her mistake.
“That’s not helping the client or the case,” Smith said, “and all you are doing is trying to throw a professional colleague under the bus.”
As I mentioned, the lawyer involved seems quite experienced, and ran for the Montana Public Service Commission in 2020 (getting nearly 48% of the vote) and for the House of Representatives in Montana’s first district in 2022 (getting over 46% of the vote) and in 2024 (getting over 44%). “Его пример другим наука,” Pushkin wrote in Eugene Onegin—”May his example profit others,” in the Falen translation.
Thanks to Matthew Monforton for the pointer.
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