Hunter snared in wrong-class license probe

SANDPOINT — A Washington state man who passed himself off as a Priest Lake resident in order to obtain deeply discounted hunting and fishing licenses is being charged with five misdemeanors.

Each of the misdemeanors — purchasing the wrong class of license — represents each year between 2014 and 2018 Christopher L. Carr obtained combination hunting and fishing licenses while claiming Idaho residency, according to court documents.

Carr, 50, was charged following an Idaho Department of Fish & Game wrong-class license investigation that relied on driver’s license records. Carr’s name was flagged as having suspect licenses, a conservation officer’s report said.

Carr listed a residence address in the 500 block of Hagman Road, which turned out to be an undeveloped parcel adjacent to a parcel owned by a relative of Carr’s, the report said.

Property, mail and other records, however, indicated Carr actually resided in Spokane Valley.

A conservation officer confronted Carr about his residence and he said he lived in Nordman and commuted two hours to his job in Post Falls, the report said. However, Carr subsequently agreed that he resided most of the time in Washington and less in Idaho, according to the report.

A review of Fish & Game records indicated Carr had been obtaining licenses as far back as 2005, court documents indicate.

Carr is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

If convicted, Carr faces up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. His hunting-and-fishing privileges could be docked for up to three years or revoked entirely due to flagrant violations of the law, court records indicate.

Carr could also be forced to pay $1,000 in restitution, which accounts for the difference in price between a resident license ($37) or a non-resident license ($238).

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.