A 45-year-old Grays Harbor County man who admitted to gunning down at least five elk and leaving the carcasses to rot on private timberland will avoid prison under a controversial mental health sentencing alternative, prompting sharp criticism from wildlife officials and hunters.
Richard Loren Pratt pleaded guilty earlier this month to first-degree unlawful big game hunting, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and wasting wildlife. On Friday of last week, Superior Court Judge John C. Skinder sentenced Pratt to three years of community custody, a $10,000 fine, and a 10-year suspension of hunting privileges in Washington – but no jail time.
Despite prosecutors recommending prison time as part of the plea agreement, the judge instead invoked Washington’s seemingly newest progressive cheat code: the Mental Health Sentencing Alternative. The MHSA is a 2021 reform that allows for treatment-focused supervision in lieu of incarceration when a defendant’s serious mental illness is deemed a contributing factor. On the surface this seems reasonable, but in this case, no serious mental illness was disclosed and the only thing this guy seemed to have trouble with was following any semblance of the law.
“Officer McOmber’s tenacity cracked a case that had gone cold for nearly a year,” said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Captain Dan Chadwick. “We are disappointed the defendant will not be serving any prison time. The Grays Harbor Prosecutor worked hard for the plea agreement which included prison time.”
The slaughter came to light in late 2023 when a timber company employee discovered multiple dead elk on a hillside near Cosmopolis. Necropsies confirmed the animals, which included cows critical to herd reproduction, had been shot with a high-powered rifle and abandoned without any meat or hides taken.
The case broke open months later when WDFW Officer McOmber encountered Pratt near the crime scene. Pratt, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, had cut a locked gate and was carrying two rifles – one of which matched ballistics from the elk killings. A lengthy investigation followed, later culminating in Pratt’s full confession.
Had the standard sentencing range been applied in this case, Pratt was up against a possible 116 months behind bars. And while we’re not here to suggest that each and every poacher deserves to ride the lightning, when you are prohibited from carrying a firearm, use said firearm to waste five elk and remove that same opportunity from law-abiding hunters, the punishment should be crystal clear. It’s not tolerated.
Moreover, sick notes shouldn’t be used to excuse egregious behavior, especially in a state where elk herds are tightly managed and tags are coveted. Compassion is most certainly a virtue we all ought to bestow upon our neighbors, but in cases like these (or worse), perhaps the best form of empathy is doling out a bit of discipline in hopes of sending a message to possible future offenders.
“Wasting five elk isn’t a mistake – it’s an attack on a public resource,” said a spokesperson for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. “When the punishment is essentially probation and a fine, the message to other would-be poachers is pretty clear.”
The (somewhat) good news is that if Pratt violates the terms of his community custody, including mandatory mental health treatment, the judge can revoke the alternative and impose the full prison term.
But for now, five elk are still dead, and the man who killed them is back home with nothing more than a sore wrist.
