Washington Man Sentenced Two Years After Getting Caught Illegally Chasing Bears on Live Trail Cam Feed

It might have taken awhile, but technology finally caught up with one Washington state man after he was busted for illegally using hounds to chase black bears in the southwestern region of the state. 

The incident took place back in the spring of 2023 when 32-year-old Casey Lipe was spotted poaching in real-time on a cellular trail camera. As we previously reported, the owner of the cellular trail cam was alerted to some activity and tuned in to see what all the fuss was about. Watching the events unfold on his cellular camera, the device’s owner noted that he watched as a black bear was chased through his camera trap by a crew of radio-collared hounds.

Knowing full well that the pursuit of bears with hounds is strictly prohibited in the state of Washington, the camera’s owner was moved to the edge of his seat in anticipation of what was coming next. Waiting patiently to see who had command of the dogs, he was soon rewarded with the sight of a rifle-toting man blazing through the same scene about 20 minutes later. With his finger on the dial, the camera’s owner made the call to Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife to report the incident.

A female WDFW officer by the name of Lisa Ariss happened to be in the area when the call from the camera’s owner came in and was able to respond immediately. Upon her arrival, she found a pickup truck with an adult male and a toddler inside. As she began questioning the man, who claimed to know nothing about the incident, Lipe and his gaggle of hounds soon miraculously emerged from the woods.

Ariss immediately noticed that three of the hounds had lacerations on their muzzles and while Lipe was without the rifle he was recorded carrying, the responding officer was soon able to force a confession.

After telling the warden that he was simply trying to exercise his dogs, he eventually succumbed to the pressure and admitted to illegally killing a black bear. Soon after his admission, he took Ariss to the dead bear and his stashed rifle and handgun a few hundred yards into the woods.

“The stars lined up on this case,” WDFW Captain Dan Chadwick said in the spring of 2023. “We were fortunate that this crime was captured by a cellular trail camera that alerted the owner, who then quickly called it in. We also had an officer only minutes away and that is rare for our skeleton crew to be that close to an in-progress big game poaching.”

Fast forward two years later and Casey Lipe found himself in front of a Wahkiakum County judge in June where he was charged with hunting bears with dogs and second-degree unlawful hunting of big game. For his crimes, he was sentenced to pay $5,000 in fines, $2,000 in wildlife penalties and was ordered to serve 10 days in jail or home detention. He will also be placed on probation for the next 24 months to include not committing any fish and wildlife violations, entering Weyerhaeuser property in Wahkiakum County, hunting in Washington, accompanying anyone hunting in the state, or transporting any fresh hunting kills in the state.

In addition to the penalties and jail time, Lipe also lost his truck, two firearms, GPS collars for his dogs, an iPhone, two-way radios and other gear as part of his plea deal.

“We wish to thank the Wahkiakum County Deputy Prosecutor, Shannon Eddy for her hard work and diligence on this case,” stated WDFW Police in a Facebook post.

Per the agency, Lipe's license suspension in Washington for five years also triggers a five-year suspension in Oregon, and two-year suspensions in Idaho and Nevada as well.