A Yakima man who tried to sell a bear skull online has pleaded guilty to a wildlife charge.
Jeremy Allan Hunter, 45, pleaded guilty to second-degree trafficking in wildlife and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm April 6 in Yakima County Superior Court. Judge Richard Bartheld sentenced him to three months in jail on each charge, with the sentences to run concurrently.
The firearms charge stems from Hunter's fourth-degree domestic violence assault in Yakima Municipal Court.
The sentence is at the low end of the standard range for someone with Hunter's prior criminal history and current charges. In the sentencing order, Bartheld ordered that Hunter get credit for the time he served in the Yakima County jail since his February arrest.
State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials began investigating Hunter in June 2022 after a cooler containing four bear paws was found in a shared backyard in Yakima, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hunter was seen in the area about the time the bear paws were discovered, court documents said.
In January, Hunter was arrested on an unrelated domestic violence charge, and state wildlife officials learned he was offering to sell a bear skull. A witness said Hunter had shot the bear with a .410-gauge shotgun on Memorial Day weekend, the affidavit said.
Wildlife officials said Hunter didn't have a permit for bear hunting, and it was not bear season at that time.
A video on Hunter's Facebook page showed the bear skull painted gold on a table, with gun rack and two long guns visible in the back. In posts on the video, Hunter was offering $100 for a bear skull that was just stripped of flesh and fur, while a painted skull would cost $250.
Wildlife officials searched Hunter's home and found the painted skull, as well as a cow elk skull with jawbone pieces, a .410-gauge Rossi shotgun with interchangeable .22-caliber barrel, a .22-caliber rifle and shotgun ammunition, the affidavit said.
