Judge hands down sentence to man who killed bear in South Lake Tahoe

"These are always tough cases," said El Dorado County Judge Suzanne Kingsbury Friday as she handed down an unexpected sentence to the 78-year-old man who killed a bear near his South Lake Tahoe home on July 10, 2015.

Gilbert Alan Wetenkamp pleaded no contest on March 11, 2016 to the misdemeanor charge of unlawfully taking of a bear.

"Everybody loses here," said Hans Uthe from the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office. "The community lost a bear."

Kingsbury sentenced Wetenkamp to two years of probation, six months in jail, a fine of $2,084 and 200 hours of community service in an animal related area to be completed in six months. He must also not use guns, obey all laws, surrender all of his firearms and be subject to search and seizure during the two years. If he completes all requirements of probation his jail time will be waived.

Uthe had asked for a $1,000 fine and 20 hours of community service, a forfeiture of his weapons and no hunting during probation.

The California Department of Fish & Game offered a depredation permit prior to the bear's shooting, but Wetenkamp refused one. His defense attorney, Mark Ralphs, said his client feared reprisals if he had taken the permit. "I feel bad for my client and it's unfortunate it has come to this."

"Animals were here before people," said Kingsbury in her judgement. "Many people move here because of the nature around us. These problems (referring to bears in trash and breaking into homes) are 100 percent human caused. Bears are opportunists and will go for readily available trash instead of foraging in the forest."

"Bears don't wake up one day and decide to be a bad bear," said Uthe. "Humans have created this problem."

"Had he accepted the depredation permit, we would have still lost a bear," said Ralphs. "My client is not responsible for the bear's bad behavior."

Wetenkamp sat still in his chair as Uthe, Kingsbury and Ralphs discussed the circumstances surrounding the case.

"The bad thing is we lost a bear," added Kingsbury.

"I frankly have issues with someone given a depredation permit in their own neighborhood," said Kingsbury. "Fish and Wildlife should deal with trying to relocate."

"Education is power," added Kingsbury. "He (Wetenkamp) could benefit the community by working with those who work with animals. He will be educated."

About a dozen supporters of bears in the basin were in court to watch the proceedings.

"We are very pleased with his sentence," said Toogee Sielsch, a volunteer with the BEAR League and Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. It was Sielsch who originally responded to the call of a dead bear after a vacationing family found him in the woods. "The judgement is above and beyond what we expected."

Sielsch also said he would be willing to help Wetenkamp find a suitable volunteer location. "I'm throwing out an olive branch to him."