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CLOUDY Temp: 61 °F Wind: WNW at 5 mph Monday, September 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine Joy Magazine Tempo A & E RogueValleyAutoFinder RogueValleyHomeFinder Real Estate Showcase Wellness Connection Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Employment Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend September 20, 2003 McBride guilty of wildlife charges By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Bandon’s police chief was convicted of five misdemeanor wildlife charges Thursday night in a case in which residents of the small Coos County town questioned the state’s zealous pursuit of their hound-hunting top cop. Chief Bob McBride also was acquitted on five other misdemeanors stemming from a 1991 undercover Oregon State Police investigation into his alleged illegal hunting and guiding of cougars, bobcats and other wildlife. After a three-day trial in Coquille, the jury deliberated about 4½ hours before convicting McBride, who asked for and received an immediate sentence. Coos County Circuit Court Judge Martin Stone ordered McBride to pay $3,255 in fines and complete 600 hours of community service and three years of probation. He also will lose his hunting privileges for five years, but he does not automatically lose his badge. Advertisement The OSP pursuit and Oregon Department of Justice prosecution of McBride have drawn intense criticism in Bandon, where residents wondered why their self-professed "Andy of Mayberry" was attacked by state officials with better things to do with their time and budget. "My main problem with the whole thing was how tacky the charges were and the amount of money the state spent in prosecuting him," said Steve Chez, McBride’s attorney. "It’s tacky not to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing it wrong. Don’t do it again,’" Chez said. OSP Sgt. Walt Markee, who was one of the undercover officers investigating McBride, said ignoring wildlife crimes involving a police officer would violate an oath to uphold the law — one that he and McBride each took as sworn officers. "If we would have given him a wink and a nod and said, ‘Don’t do it again,’ that wouldn’t be right," said Markee, who has run similar wildlife undercover stings in Jackson County. "We don’t do that with anybody else." Markee and another member of OSP’s special undercover wildlife unit were investigating another Bandon man for illegal guiding when they were steered to McBride, a houndsman and avid hunter not licensed to guide. The officers bought a hunting trip from McBride, and posed as would-be poachers. Officers caught McBride taking part in, or freely discussing, wildlife violations during the January 1991 trip. When McBride failed to deliver a cougar or bobcat to be poached as planned during the sting, he blamed his tracking hounds as being too old and slow for the job, court papers show. He was convicted Thursday of illegally chasing a cougar with his hounds as well as failing to validate a bobcat card, both incidents unrelated to the sting. He also was convicted of aiding in three other misdemeanors associated with the undercover officers. McBride was acquitted on a charge of guiding without a license as well as four other misdemeanors alleging he aided in the illegal take of game birds during the trip with the officers. McBride, who testified in court, claimed he did not know he was committing any violations and was unaware that some of Oregon’s hunting and guiding statutes applied to him. "If you look at the game laws," Chez said, "that’s not hard to do." The three-day trial drew a packed courtroom, mainly from McBride’s supporters from Bandon. "People in Bandon love this guy," Chez said. "Bob McBride is probably the best-loved police officer I’ve ever come into contact with." McBride’s conviction does not automatically revoke his police credentials. The town’s council employs McBride and could fire him, but Chez said he seriously doubts that will happen. Markee agreed. "He’s got a lot of support in that community," he said. "That’s a weird little town." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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