A Wahkiakum County District Court judge sentenced a Battle Ground man earlier this month for illegally hunting black bear with dogs in a case that began with a tip from a trail camera, according to Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police.
On June 17, 32-year-old Casey Lipe was sentenced on two criminal charges: unlawful hunting of black bear with the aid of dogs, and second-degree unlawful hunting of big game.
The court ordered Lipe to serve 10 days in jail or on home detention, at his own expense.
He was also fined $5,000 and assessed an additional $2,000 in criminal wildlife penalties.
The court placed Lipe on 24 months of probation with several restrictions: he cannot commit any additional fish and wildlife violations, hunt or assist in hunting anywhere in Washington, transport fresh hunting kills in the state, or enter Weyerhaeuser property in Wahkiakum County.
As part of the ruling, Lipe’s Washington hunting license was suspended for five years.
Under the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, that suspension also applies in other states—five years in Oregon, two years in both Idaho and Nevada.
The state permanently forfeited Lipe’s pickup truck, two firearms, dog GPS equipment, iPhone, two-way radios, and other hunting gear seized during the investigation.
WDFW officials thanked Wahkiakum County Deputy Prosecutor Shannon Eddy for her work on the case.
The investigation began in May 2023, when a cellular trail camera in Wahkiakum County captured video of hound dogs pursuing a black bear.
About 20 minutes later, a man appeared on camera following the dogs with a rifle in hand.
The camera’s owner notified a WDFW sergeant, who quickly dispatched an officer already nearby.
The responding officer found Lipe’s vehicle parked nearby with an adult male and a young child inside.
Lipe initially claimed not to know what was happening.
However, he later emerged with multiple radio-collared hounds, three of which had fresh cuts on their faces.
He first told the officer he was exercising his dogs, but later cooperated and led the officer to the dead bear and two hidden firearms.
WDFW officers cited Lipe for several violations, including hunting black bear during a closed season, using dogs to hunt bear, hunting while trespassing, and wasting big game.
Most of the charges are gross misdemeanors, each carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail, a $5,000 fine, and license suspensions.
“This crime was captured by a cellular trail camera that alerted the owner who then quickly called it in,” said Captain Dan Chadwick with WDFW. “We also had an officer only minutes away—and that is rare for our skeleton crew.”
WDFW urges the public to report wildlife crimes by calling 877-933-9847, texting TIP411 (847411) with keyword WDFWTIP, or visiting bit.ly/45JCuzS.
©2025 Cox Media Group
