FAIRPLAY — The Texas businessman who engineered the killing of 32 bison in South Park almost a year ago will appear in court today, where a judge will decide whether he should spend some time in jail as a part of the plea deal he agreed to in November.
Jeffrey Hawn, 45, of Austin could be sentenced to up to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to one count of criminal mischief and one count of cruelty to animals. He already has served 100 hours of community service and paid $157,000 in restitution, plus accepted two years of probation.
On Feb. 25, Hawn authorized a group of men to hunt the bison and asked them “to get started as quickly as possible.”
The first report of the shootings, on March 19, came nine days after Hawn filed a lawsuit against rancher Monte Downare. In it, he said bison were leaving the Downare ranch and tearing up his property. That suit and Downare’s counterclaim have been dismissed. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
