Ballistics tests connect rifle to 2015 case near Lydia, LDWF says
A New Iberia father and his juvenile son were cited last week after a lengthy investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for allegedly shooting an Iberia Parish black bear in the fall of 2015.
On June 23, enforcement agents ticketed Elie P. Dupre, 59, and his 15-year-old son in connection with the shooting of a Louisiana black bear off Weeks Island Road near Lydia on Nov. 4, 2015.
After the 250-pound female bear — which had worn a tracking collar for eight years — was discovered, investigators conducted a necropsy and removed a single bullet fired from a 7 mm-08 rifle.
According to a press release, agents arrested Dupre in December of 2015 on a separate night-hunting case in the vicinity of where the bear had been shot, seized a 7mm-08 rifle in that case and sent it to the crime lab for testing.
The lab determined the bullet removed from the bear had been fired from the seized rifle, the release states.
Further investigation revealed Dupre’s son was with him when the bear was shot, according to the release.
Illegally killing a Louisiana black bear brings a $900 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. The father and son also face up to $10,000 in civil restitution for the replacement value of the bear.