Pulliams Say They Were Defending Selves On Coon Hunt
posted April 23, 2007
A Bradley County father/son were found not guilty Monday after a day-long bench trial on charges of killing a black bear in a bear sanctuary in the Cherokee National Forest.
Magistrate Susan Kerr Lee said the government did not prove its case against Ronnie and Dustin Pulliam beyond a reasonable doubt.
Dustin Pulliam, a 26-year-old aspiring veterinarian, was fined $10 for having an expired hunting license. He also must pay a $5 special assessment.
Ronnie Pulliam, 49, said the incident Dec. 21, 2005, in a remote section of the mountains near Jacks River was a coon hunting outing with his son and friend Keith Brock and his two young sons.
He said he fell in a creek in the rugged terrain and broke his only weapon, a .22-caliber rifle. He said the stock came off, though the gun would still fire.
Ronnie Pulliam said soon after they parked their vehicle, the dogs with them "struck" and were released to tree the coon.
But he said they soon discovered the dogs had a bear up a tree instead.
He said the bear came down that tree, tusseled with the five dogs that were in pursuit, then headed for another tree up a ridge. He said he and his son followed because they could not get their prize coon hound to come back - even though they sent "shocks" to the dog.
He said when they arrived at that tree, his son went for the dog and he shined a light up in the tree and saw the bear was scraping the bark of the pine and starting to come down. He said he then fired several shots.
Two Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officers testified that they witnessed the shooting, having arrived just before the bear fell. The incident occurred about 2 a.m.
The officers said they first encountered the Brocks and they heard three shots while talking to them.
Officer Matt Majors said he was crouched on the ground while checking out the firing he had heard. He said he looked up and saw a bear in the tree about 60 feet up.
He said he saw the father aim at the bear and fire while the son stood nearby holding the dog on a leash and shining the light.
Officer Majors said the bear then tumbled down through the branches, landing about 10 feet from where he was lying. He said some of the limbs fell on him.
He said he began to roll out of the way. He said he heard the bear give a low moan or growl and "that was the point I decided I didn't want to be there."
Officer Majors said he and Officer Davis then took the father and son into custody. He said they tried to give an explanation, saying, "This is not what it seems like."
He said at one point Ronnie Pulliam said, "I don't guess you'd believe it if I said I thought it was a raccoon."
Officer Majors said five officers used a K-9 dog and scoured the area the next day, but did not find the bear. He said drops of blood were found on leaves near where the bear fell.
The defense called an Athens veteranarian who said he believes the bear survived.
Dr. Mark Workman said, "I have a real strong feeling he is still out there in the woods."
He said he knew of no hunter who would go after a bear with a .22 rifle.
Judge Lee said poaching is a serious offense and wildlife officers put their lives on the line, but she said there was not enough evidence to convict.
Defense attorneys were Randy Rogers and Jim Logan.
Prosecutor Robert Anderson said it was very unusual to have two TWRA officers on the scene as eyewitnesses.
He said the bear was high up in the tree and the Pulliams "were not under attack. They could have merely walked away."
He said they "got caught up in a coon hunt that became a bear hunt."
The officers said the area is a sanctuary so that bears can have a safe place to reproduce. He said some of the bears then migrate to other areas where bear hunting is allowed.
Ronnie Pulliam said he was startled to see the bear in the extremely cold weather. He said, "I thought bears hibernated in the winter."
He said as they approached the bear the first time and heard the scraping sounds on the tree someone in the party said, "I don't think this is a raccoon."
He said their aim after spotting the bear was "getting the dogs and getting out of there."
He said after the bear fell, the officers told them to give up their weapons and hit the ground. He said they were told they were under arrest and were going to jail.
He told the judge, "When we left the truck, we were on a coon mission. Then, I'm up here with a broke .22 and a bear treed. What do you do?"
Dustin Pulliam said he had a hunting license since he became of age in 1999, but he said he let the license lapse after going away to school in the West Indies.
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