Officials arrested a man from Hackettstown, N.J., Monday for shooting a two-year-old female black bear in his backyard.
Authorities found the 266-pound bear dead on Oct. 10 after hearing reports of an injured bear wandering into another yard. The bear left a blood trail in the street, and Sgt. Darren Tynan told the Daily Record a single arrow killed it.
David Denbleyker, 29, claimed the black bear was going to attack his dog and a friend, and admitted to shooting it with his bow.
“Our officers found his story not to be credible,” New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese told the New Jersey Herald.
DEP is charging Denbleyker with killing a black bear out of season, killing it in a manner not sanctioned by state game code, nocking an arrow within 150 feet of an occupied dwelling, and killing the bear without a hunting permit. A final charge by local police for weapon possession by a convicted felon topped off the heap of accusations.
Denbleyker posted the $5,000 bail and was released on the same day of his arrest.