GREAT FALLS — A Browning-area man has denied charges he illegally killed three grizzly bears near his residence in August.
The Great Falls Tribune reports 75-year-old Everett Skunkcap pleaded not guilty Thursday to three counts of unlawfully taking a threatened species.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong set a Jan. 5 trial date and appointed a public defender for Skunkcap.
Federal prosecutors say Skunkcap used a rifle to shoot a 17-year-old grizzly bear and two male cubs west of Browning on Aug. 6.
He previously told the Tribune that he shot the female and one of the cubs because they were walking toward three of his grandchildren who were wading in a creek. Prosecutors say Skunkcap shot the third bear when it returned about an hour later.
Authorities argue the bears never threatened his grandchildren.