Two teenagers will pay several thousand dollars in fines, and forfeit their guns and hunting licenses, for illegally shooting two brown bears on the Sitka road system last fall, and dumping the carcasses.
17-year old Peter Wesley Holst last month (9-20-23) pleaded guilty in Sitka District Court to seven misdemeanor counts, ranging from unlawful methods of taking game, to hunting in a closed area, to failure to salvage a brown bear hide and skull. Five other related charges were dismissed by Magistrate Judge Pamela Stahla-Kernin.
According to court documents, Holst and co-defendant 17-year old Bae Evan Barkhoefer, shot a brown bear on the evening of September 30, 2022, on the Nelson Logging Road outside of Sitka. Holst used a Remington 12-gauge shotgun to kill the animal; Barkhoefer fired a Ruger .44 magnum pistol, but missed, based on cell phone video evidence provided to Wildlife Troopers by a witness.
Neither Holst or Barkhoefer was in possession of a bear tag, and the animal was illuminated in the headlights of Holst’s vehicle, a Chevy Silverado pickup, which was stopped less than a quarter-mile from the state highway, Halibut Point Road. The pair, aided by some other teens, then loaded the carcass into the pickup, drove partway up Harbor Mountain Road, and dumped the carcass over an embankment.
On October 8, 2022, according to court documents, Holst killed a second brown bear, again in the headlights of his vehicle on the Nelson Logging Road near the footbridge over Starrigavan Creek. He was accompanied by another teen who did not fire a gun, but instead, with the assistance of “multiple juveniles,” helped load the illegally-killed bear into the truck and drive it to Harbor Mountain Road for disposal.
Barkhoefer pleaded guilty to five wildlife violations for his participation in the first incident, with total fines of $1,250. He’ll be on probation for two years, and unable to hunt or trap for the first year of his probation.
Holst was fined a total a $7,000, with $3,500 suspended, the balance of which he can pay, or serve 350 hours of community service instead. He’ll pay $2,600 restitution to the State of Alaska for the two bears, either in cash, or from his Permanent Fund Dividends for the next two years. Holst will be on probation for 4 years, and unable to hunt for the first two years of his probation.
Both teens forfeited the firearms used in the incidents. Their phones and GoPro camera were returned.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers were able to locate the discarded carcass of one of the bears on Harbor Mountain Road. The hide and skull of the animal were present, but the two front paws had been removed. According to court documents, Holst admitted to disposing of the claws, and a section of the bear’s hide, on Blue Lake Road on the morning of October 12, 2022, in anticipation of contact from Wildlife Troopers investigating the shooting of a brown bear outside of Holst’s home on the 1400-block of Edgecumbe Drive the previous night. The subsequent trooper investigation determined that the Edgecumbe Drive bear was killed legally, in “defense of life or property,” and the names of Holst and another involved juvenile were not publicly linked to the incident
