Man fined for possessing illegally killed elk

CHINOOK (AP) — A Kalispell man has been ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution for possessing the head and antlers of a trophy elk that was illegally killed in the Bears Paw Mountains south of Chinook.

The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says 38-year-old Timothy W. Giardina was initially charged with five misdemeanors for his actions on a hunting trip last November. Officials say he shot a trophy elk without a license and later cut off its head and antlers, and illegally shot two other deer.

FWP says Giardina pleaded guilty in Justice Court in Blaine County to unlawful possession of the illegally killed elk and wasting a game animal. He was fined $420, given a 180-day suspended jail sentence and lost his hunting and fishing privileges for five years.