Colorado: Nathan Simms, 31, pleads guilty to torturing and maiming mountain lions and bobcats so paid clients could kill them easier in "canned hunts"

COLORADO -- A Grand Junction man has pleaded guilty to reduced charges for his part in a scheme with a Mack outfitter to capture and maim mountain lions and bobcats for clients to shoot more easily.

Nathan Simms, 31, was the last member of a group of outfitters to face federal charges. He agreed on April 6 to plead guilty to eight misdemeanor counts of violating the federal Lacey Act by illegally transporting wildlife across state lines, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Mike Porras. Simms also accepted a recommendation that he serve six months in prison.

His sentencing hearing will be held in June.

“We have faith in the courts, we have faith in the judicial process, and we are satisfied with the outcome,” Porras said.

Simms may also go before a Colorado Parks and Wildlife hearing officer who will decide whether he should face a lifetime suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges.

Simms worked for the now-defunct outfitter, which was owned by his wife’s father, Christopher Loncarich, until 2010 when officials closed a three-year investigation into the organization, who operated in the Bookcliff Mountains of Colorado and Utah.

Authorities allege Loncarich as well as several others developed the plan to boost their business.

  Investigators said the outfitters would trap mountain lions and bobcats, sometimes shooting the animal in the paw or placing them in a leg hold, and then release the animals out of sight of hunters. 

Sometimes guides would make a “show” to the clients of tracking the animals, though they knew the animals had been previously caged or restrained nearby.

The scheme was uncovered after an undercover agent booked two hunting trips with Loncarich. During those incidents, a mountain lion had been previously shot in the back leg before the agent was instructed to shoot it. 

In the other incident, a bobcat had been previously shot with a small-caliber bullet in a paw and its hip.

Simms was the last of the co-conspirators to enter his plea. According to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife press release, the others received the following:

■ Loncarich began his 27-month prison sentence in 2014 after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Lacey Act.

■ Caitlin Simms, Christopher Loncarich’s daughter and Nathan Simms’ wife, was given a year of probation, a $1,000 fine and 60 hours of community service after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor Lacey Act violations.

■ Andie Loncarich, Christopher Loncarich’s other daughter, was given a year of probation, a $500 fine and 36 hours of community service after pleading guilty to one misdemeanor Lacey Act violation.

■ Grand Junction resident Marvin Ellis received three years of probation, six months of home detention and a $3,100 fine after pleading guilty to one felony count of conspiring to violate the Lacey Act.

■ Nicholaus Rodgers of Medford, Oregon, received 36 months of probation, six months of home confinement, 50 hours of community service and $5,000 in fines after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the Lacey Act.

Loncarich and Rodgers also each received a lifetime suspension of hunting and fishing privileges. Caitlin Simms received a 20-year suspension, and Andie Loncarich and Ellis each received 15-year suspensions.

Three of Loncarich’s clients were also fined $13,100, although investigators found that "most" clients were unaware of the outfitters’ methods.

(Grand Junction Daily Sentinel - April 19, 2016)