Pair faces charges in albino bear hunt

By HEIDI DESCH - Hungry Horse News

A man who shot an albino black bear in April has been charged in Flathead County District with two felonies connected with the hunt.

Jake Sweeney, 18, faces charges of felony tampering with witnesses and felony fabrication of physical evidence.

According to court documents, Sweeney shot the bear on April 20 and filled out a harvest form indicating he killed it up the North Fork in the Coal Creek drainage.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks then got a tip that he had actually killed the bear on Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. property on Teakettle Mountain.

Montana law requires permission for all hunting on private land. Even if the land is not posted, hunters must have permission to hunt there.

FWP officers interviewed Sweeney and he confirmed the location and stated that he was hunting with Jeremy Terrillion and that they had been dropped off at Mud Lake by Elyden Gravelin.

Terrillion was interviewed and said he had never been on Teakettle Mountain, but was evasive about returning to the kill site, documents state.

Later, FWP officers asked Sweeney to take them to the kill site. After several days, Sweeney finally agreed to take officers to the site and said he had placed orange flags on Coal Creek Road where he had come out of the woods.

Sweeney allegedly placed the flags in a manner to create a site and also told Gravelin to tell officers they had been hunting in the North Fork.

Terrillion, 18, is also charged with felony tampering with witnesses and felony fabrication of physical evidence for his role.

According to documents,Gravelin later admitted to being instructed to follow the story, but had actually dropped the hunters off at a switchback near Teakettle Mountain.

Sweeney in May admitted to fabricating the story and kill site, documents state. He also stated that he should not lose the bear hide and then picked it up from a taxidermist, despite being advised that FWP had a hold on it.

Sweeney is set to be arraigned in District Court on Oct. 25.

Terrillion pleaded not guilty to the charges on Oct. 4 and is currently set for trial on March 10.

If convicted on both charges, Sweeney and Terrillion each face up to 20 years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $100,000.