Phoenix – Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Bibles and Special Agent in Charge Phillip Land of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement of the Southwest Region, announced that Jason William Kunkel of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to an Endangered Species Act, Class B misdemeanor for the unlawful take and killing of a Mexican Gray Wolf in December 2017.
Immediately after entering the guilty plea, Kunkel was sentenced to five years of supervised probation. In addition, Kunkel shall not engage in any hunting activities; shall be banned from the National Forests of Arizona except for travel through those areas; shall pay $7,500 restitution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and shall forfeit his Remington Model 770, bolt action rifle with a scope to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Fish and Game both cooperated together in an investigation of the killing of the Mexican Wolf and would like to send a message that these types of crimes will not be tolerated.
