Abby Hedengran (aka Gert Hedengran, Abby Hedengran, Gert Abby Hedengran). His wife is Emma Hedengran (aka Roena Hedengran, Roena Emma Hedengran).
CALIFORNIA -- Gert "Abby" Hedengran, who along with his wife owned an escaped Siberian tiger that was shot and killed in Moorpark in 2005, avoided jail time for his role and instead was sentenced to eight months home detention by a U.S. District Court judge this morning.
Judge George H. King also sentenced Hedengran, 58, who now lives in Parumph, Nevada, to three years probation and ordered him to pay a $900 fine and $250 special assessment fee, pay for the cost of his home confinement, submit to random inspections of the exotic animals he owns and the facilities they live in and to give a DNA sample.
Hedengran's attorney, Kimberly Salvo, said the sentence was appropriate.
"I think the judge was fair," she said after the hearing.
The judge recognizes Hedengran has done everything he could to ensure this will never happen again, she added.
Hedengran had pleaded guilty in January to two felony counts of making false statements to a federal authority and obstruction of justice and witness tampering. He also pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts for failing to maintain records of exotic felines.
King heeded Salvo's request that Hedengran be spared jail time. The U.S. Attorney's Office had recommended Hedengran be sentenced to 14 months in prison.
Standing before King, Salvo argued that her client is 58-years-old, gainfully employed and now has a felony conviction on his record. If he were sent to prison it would make it difficult for him to find meaningful work and Hedengran has worked extensively with officials in Nevada to ensure his exotic animals can't escape, she said.
When asked if he wanted to speak on his own behalf, Hedengran, who wore a tie with a tiger on it, said he didn't have much to add but that he took responsibility for his actions.
Prosecutor Joseph Johns said he was pleased with the judge's sentence as well.
"There is no doubt this was a very serious violation that occurred in the Moorpark community," Johns said after the sentencing. "It doesn't take that much creativity to imagine what could happen with a Siberian tiger lose for four to six weeks in Moorpark."
Johns said the home detention Hedengran faces is probably the most serious consequence that had has been handed down against an exotic animal owner in the country.
Between Jan. 19 and Feb. 1, 2005, Hedengran and his wife Roena "Emma" Hedengran transported and had others transport about 22 exotic cats, including African lions, Bengal and Siberian tigers and Canadian Lynxs from their licensed facility in Temecula to an unlicensed location in the Tierra Rejada Valley, according to court documents.
The couple had lost their U.S. Department of Agriculture exhibitor license because they failed to notify the department of the move within 10 days.
The couple's lynx escaped in January 2005 and after it was found by state game wardens, the property was inspected by USDA officials. During the inspection, Gert Hedengran said the couple had two tigers, when they actually had three.
Gert Hedengran knew that one of the tigers, the one named Tuffy, had escaped and could not be found, court documents state, Hedengran also misled investigators as they searched for the missing tiger, who was eventually spotted in a residential area, shot and killed.
Roena "Emma" Hedengran pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of failing to maintain records of exotic felines. She will be sentenced on Monday, May 14.
(Ventura County Star - May 7, 2007)
Earlier:
- California: Hedengrans Arrested in Tiger's Escape. The Moorpark animal sanctuary owners denied the cat belonged to them while it roamed suburban areas. Trackers killed it Feb. 23.
- California: Gert "Abby" Hedengran and his wife, Roena "Emma" Hedengran take plea bargain in case involving loose tiger that was shot and killed
- Nevada: Gert "Abby" Hedengran and his wife fled California with their exotic animals, moving their problems to Nevada
