Judge sends Brainerd man to prison for beheading bear on reservation

A federal judge has sentenced a Brainerd man to 15 months in prison for killing and then beheading a 700-pound black bear on the Red Lake Indian Reservation.

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson sentenced 39-year-old James Stimac on Wednesday. In addition to the 15 months in prison plus a year of supervised release, Stimac is required to pay a $9,500 fine.

According to prosecutors, Stimac used a compound bow to kill the bear on the reservation in northern Minnesota in September 2019.

Stimac isn’t a tribal member and entered the reservation without permission.

Stimac returned to the reservation the next day, posed for photos with the bear’s carcass but couldn’t remove the bear from the reservation because it was too big.

He used a saw to remove the bear’s head as a trophy.

Stimac was charged with trespassing on Indian land and wildlife trafficking.