A 37-year-old man who killed a bear in mid-August pleaded guilty in Dolores Municipal Court on Friday, Sept. 26, to illegally discharging a firearm within town limits and accepted a plea deal related to failing to secure trash in a bear-resistant container.
Juan Jimenez De La Cruz pleaded guilty to both charges and paid a $499 fine, according to records from Dolores Municipal Court.
The failure to secure trash in a bear-resistant container was a reduced charge from a previous violation. De La Cruz had originally been charged with violating a hunting prohibition. The trash violation carried a $499 fine, which was suspended on the condition that De La Cruz not violate any other town ordinances for the next 12 months, according to court records.
De La Cruz could not be reached for comment.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin described the bear killing during a Town of Dolores Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 8.
“I tell you, this year has probably been the busiest year ever in my past 11 years here with bears,” Nowlin said.
Nowlin attributed the uptick in bear activity to a regional drought, along with wildfire activity in the area.
“Just in the month of August, six violations in a week for unlatched trash containers that these bears get into.”
Since then, compliance with the code has improved, Nowlin said.
“On the 18th of August, there was a serious incident that took place up on Merritt Way where a firearm was discharged within the town limits.”
Nowlin said that discharging a firearm within town limits violated the Dolores code, while the killing constituted illegal hunting. The illegal hunting charge, however, was amended to a failure to secure trash.
