GRANTS, N.M.—A former outfitter and ranch owner has been sentenced to 4,500 hours of community service for illegally transporting elk and receiving stolen bighorn sheep heads.
Kirt Darner, 69, also must pay $10,000 in fines and an undetermined amount of restitution to the state Game and Fish Department, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and a Colorado taxidermy business.
He was sentenced Monday in state District Court.
As part of a plea agreement, Darner agreed never to hunt, fish or posses firearms in his lifetime. He also agreed not to operate as a guide or outfitter in New Mexico or Colorado.
Darner and his wife, Paula, were co-owners of the 40-acre Lobo Canyon Ranch when they were indicted on multiple charges related to the theft of the sheep heads and the transport of the stolen elk.
