Two Glasgow youths have been sentenced in Valley County Justice Court for illegally killing and abandoning five pronghorn antelope south of town last month.

Sawyer J. Hillman, 16, and Dillon T. Pankratz, 13, were driving around hunting gophers just outside Glasgow during the middle of the day on June 7 when they encountered the antelope on private land and started shooting. When the firing stopped, two bucks and three does lay dead. Each of the does had nursing fawns. All of the animals were left in fields.

Thanks to alert area landowners and other information, Region 6 Warden Sgt. Shane Reno and Glasgow-based Warden Ron Howell were able to quickly track down the boys for questioning. The youths were charged after confessing to the illegal acts.

Submitted | Fish, Wildlife and Parks Five pronghorn antelope recently were found shot to death and left on private land outside Glasgow. Two youths confessed and have been convicted in the case.

Both Hillman and Pankratz were sentenced last week on five misdemeanor counts each of hunting during a closed season and five misdemeanor counts each of waste and abandon of a game animal.

Justice of the Peace Linda Hartsock ordered each of the boys to serve 24 months of juvenile probation, perform 100 hours of community service, pay $500 in restitution and $350 in surcharges, and complete a remedial hunter education program. In addition, both Hillman and Pankratz lost their hunting and fishing privileges for 24 months.

“We’re investigating these types of cases almost constantly all along the Hi-Line from Havre to Glasgow,” Howell said. “These big game animals belong to the public, and we set seasons and quotas to manage and protect them. Taking them out of season and leaving them to rot is a slap in the face to law-abiding hunters, as well as to all of our citizens.”

Howell asked landowners and others keep a sharp eye out for unusual activity and suspicious people acting strangely in outlying areas.

“We can use all the help we can get to bring more of these poachers to justice,” he said. “Please call us if you see something that doesn’t look right.”