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A Tacoma man described as "one of the largest illegal wildlife traffickers in Washington state history" was sentenced Friday to 30 days of community service and 60 days' home detention for selling deer, elk and sturgeon in violation of state law.Bona Bunphoath, 46, previously pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree unlawful trafficking in fish and wildlife.Bunphoath was arrested in 2012 after investigators with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife learned he was illegally dealing in wild game and set up a sting to catch him, court records show.Fish and Wildlife detective Todd Vandivert, now retired, wrote a letter to the court in November detailing his investigation of Bunphoath.Vandivert said he and his partner, over the course of 19 months, bought 10 whole elk carcasses and three deer from Bunphoath and sold him one deer. The going price for an elk was $600, with deer going for $200-$250, court records show."Additionally, Mr. Bunphoath sold or coordinated the sale of 11 sturgeon," Vandivert said in his letter. "As you can guess, we were not Mr. Bunphoath's only customers, and as a matter of fact, he several times told us he had many customers for his illegal fish and wildlife and had no problem selling animals to others."Investigators believe many of the animals were harvested out of season by people in the Yakima area and sold to Bunphoath, who then resold them."I assure the court Mr. Bunphoath was fully aware of just how illegal the sale of deer and elk is in Washington," Vandivert said. "I think it goes without saying that Mr. Bunphoath is one of the largest illegal wildlife traffickers in Washington state history (if not the single largest), and his activities have had a tremendous adverse impact to the wildlife populations of our state."
The judge, citing Bunphoath's "spirit of cooperation" in working with authorities and "the cultural issue at play," agreed to sentence Bunphoath as a first-time offender but gave him 90 days instead of 30.She converted 30 days to community service but ruled Bunphoath could serve the remaining 60 days on electronic home monitoring.
The judge, citing Bunphoath's "spirit of cooperation" in working with authorities and "the cultural issue at play," agreed to sentence Bunphoath as a first-time offender but gave him 90 days instead of 30.She converted 30 days to community service but ruled Bunphoath could serve the remaining 60 days on electronic home monitoring.