A 70-year-old man was fined $20,000 this week after he illegally baited and shot a trophy deer on his property after the close of hunting season.
William Valden of Elverta, California pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charges on Tuesday. Valden will either serve time through a work project or by wearing an ankle monitor. He also had to surrender his rifle and will be placed under three-year probation which will not allow him to hunt.
Hunters must carry deer tags and submit detailed information showing when and where the animal was killed. After, a department official will sign off on the information, showing it was a fair kill.
When officials confronted Valden, he admitted he shot the deer after hunting season and forged the signature of an official who previously had signed off on his tags.