Hunter must pay $8,000 for killing 2nd moose

A Post Falls man must pay $8,000 restitution and will not be allowed to hunt for 3 years for killing two moose in the Naples area.

Chad D. Whitesitt, 23, also served two days in Boundary County Jail after pleading guilty on Nov. 13 and was fined $660.

Greg Johnson, senior conservation officer with Idaho Department of Fish and Game, called the incident “very unfortunate.”

“There’s no winners,” Johnson said. “It was one of those things that didn’t have to be. He made a mistake. We’re human and we make mistakes. You can deal with it and do the right thing after.”

The meat was wasted.

Whitesitt on Nov. 7 was riding in a truck driven by Kent Mitton, 52, of Ponderay when they spotted a pair of moose running down Fall Creek Road. Whitesitt, who had a moose tag, hopped out of the truck and shot at the moose, wounding both.

He then killed both, gutted one and took it with him, and hid the second moose under some brush about 30 to 40 feet off the road.

A passerby saw the blood in the snow, found the dead moose and reported the matter.

Game officials found Whitesitt on a hunch. There were six moose tags issued for the area for the hunting period. They found the suspect while interviewing the holders of those tags.

When game officials went to Post Falls looking for Whitesitt, they found the other moose hanging in a shop

Whitesitt pleaded guilty to taking more than one moose, which is a felony. He also pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge for shooting from a public road.

Mitton, who was charged with helping possess an unlawful moose, pled guilty to the misdemeanor. A judge fined Mitton $300 and ordered that he pay $2,000 in restitution.

There is a mandatory $10,000 restitution fee on a wasted moose, Johnson said.