Man fined $2,500 for feeding bears
A European tourist was fined $2,500, Aug. 27, for feeding bears in Jasper National Park.
Romulus Stoica was witnessed approaching and feeding a family of black bears near the Miette Hot Springs June 5 and was subsequently charged with feeding wildlife under the National Parks Act.
According to three witness statements that were read aloud in court, Stoica was first seen taking selfies with the bears, getting as close as 12 feet from them in the process, despite numerous people yelling at him to keep his distance.
He was then witnessed feeding a bear cub sunflower seeds and, according to a witness, the cub then followed him toward his cabin.
In July, a Quebec man was fined $1,000 for feeding a bear alongside the highway.
In this instance, the Crown requested an increased fine arguing Stoica didn’t appreciate that he was doing something wrong and kept feeding the cub even while bystanders were waving and yelling at him to stop.
Stoica appeared in court with a family friend who acted as a translator, speaking on his behalf.
“He did a mistake,” she said. “He didn’t know; he was not aware of the danger of the bears in this country. From now on he will learn from the mistake.”
Judge V. Meyer explained to Stoica that the problem with feeding bears is that they become habituated and as a result can become a public safety hazard, resulting in possible injury to people, and even the death of the animal.
Meyer gave Stoica until Oct. 22 to pay the fine and reminded him “don’t feed bears!”
Woman sentenced for stolen credit card, fraud
A 29-year-old Manitoba woman was sentenced to 41 days in jail and 18 months probation for possession of a stolen credit card, fraud and three counts of failure to appear in court, Aug. 27.
After evading the court system for two years, Angela M. James pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 13.
Appearing by CCTV from the Edmonton Remand Centre, James received her sentence last week.
The Crown suggested 58 days in prison—30 for possession of a stolen credit card and fraud, as well as seven days for each count of failure to appear in court—but James’ lawyer asked that the judge consider the 41 days she’s spent in jail as time served so she could start school on Sept. 1 and subsequently move back to Manitoba to be with her two-year-old son.
Judge V. Meyers agreed, saying he didn’t think it would be in the public interest to keep James in jail for an additional 17 days when she could be in school.
James was picked up in 2013 after a wallet went missing from a car parked in the alley behind Jasper Motorcycle Tours. She was found a few doors down in Jasper Wine Merchants attempting to purchase liquor with a credit card from the wallet.
The Jasper RCMP found her there, confiscated the cards and charged her with possession of a stolen credit card and fraud for impersonating the card owner.
When asked if she’d like to speak, James said “I just want to move forward with my life for my son.”
Nicole Veerman
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