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Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com
Email: timberwolfinfonetwork@gmail.com

WA: Twisp couple plead guilty to killing wolves, shipping hide

SPOKANE — A Twisp man admitted in federal court today that he killed two endangered gray wolves from the now nearly-decimated Lookout Pack, and his wife admitted she tried to ship one of the wolves’ hides to Canada.

Tom D. White, 37, pleaded guilty to killing two endangered wolves. Erin J. White, 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export an endangered species, and unlawful export of an endangered species in U.S. District Court in Spokane.

U.S. Attorneys will recommend they each serve three years of probation, a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Tom has agreed to pay $30,000 in fines and restitution, and Erin has agreed to pay $5,000.

The Whites each face a maximum penalty of up to one year in prison for each offense at a sentencing hearing on July 11. Neither of the Whites have a criminal record.

Tom White’s father, Bill White, 62, pleaded guilty on April 4 to conspiring to taken an endangered species, conspiracy to traonsport an endangered species, and unlawful importation of wildlife, the last charge stemming from a moose that he brought into the United States from Canada.

The wolves were killed in May and December of 2008, said a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Spokane.

The case arose in 2008, when an Omak shipping agent called police to report a package left for shipping was dripping with blood. Police opened the package to find a fresh wolf hide. The woman had identified herself as Alison, and provided a non-working telephone number, the news release said.

State and federal Fish and Wildlife officers used surveillance cameras to identify the vehicle, and got a warrant to search the White’s house.

Computer equipment and emails revealed several photos showing Tom holding up a second dead wolf. White admitted during the search to killing both of the wolves.

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