A Seward man who took down snares and traps from a legal trap line has been fined $2,250.

Mark Luttrell, 46, pleaded no contest Tuesday in Seward District Court to theft and criminal mischief.
He was fined $3,000, with $1,500 suspended, on the theft charge and sentenced to 60 days in jail with all 60 suspended.

On the criminal mischief charge, Luttrell was fined $1,500 with $750 suspended and sentenced to 30 days jail with all 30 suspended.

He was also sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered to pay damages of $488 to the trapper.
The incident occurred last month.

In an interview with the Daily News earlier this month, Luttrell said he was hiking off Mile 13.2 Seward Highway into the Snow River drainage when he came upon the snares and traps.
He found 20 snares, five leghold traps, two other kinds of traps and a few smaller devices for weasels.

Most of the devices targeted wolves, wolverines and coyotes, and all were set legally. A beaver head and skinned carcasses had been set out as bait.

Luttrell said that he detests trapping and that his dog had once been caught in a snare. He tripped the traps and used cable cutters to cut their grounds.

Luttrell carried the devices a short distance away and dumped them.

He was later questioned by wildlife enforcement trooper and admitted causing the damage.

He and the trooper hiked out the Snow River drainage to retrieve the traps.


-- The Associated Press