Last November, a convicted felon named Richard Loren Pratt walked out of a Washington courtroom a free man after admitting he’d gunned down at least five cow elk on private land, left the carcasses to rot, and did it all while illegally packing heat. As confusing as that statement might be, it was all made possible by an enlightened justice system in Washington state that offered him the shiny new Mental Health Sentencing Alternative—a bureaucratic participation trophy designed to treat poaching as a cry for help rather than, you know, felony wildlife slaughter with a side of illegal possession of firearms.
Yes, despite Pratt pleading guilty to first-degree unlawful big game hunting (a spree-killing charge involving three or more animals), unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and wasting wildlife, Superior Court Judge John C. Skinder opted for three years of community custody, mandatory mental health treatment, a $10,000 fine, and a 10-year hunting suspension instead of the recommended prison time.
That soft sentence sent a wave of anger through the outdoors community and straight into the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife who worked tirelessly to secure a plea deal they hoped would result in actual prison time.
“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 said at the time of sentencing. “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.”
Thankfully, now four months down the road, reality has reasserted itself with the subtlety of the high-powered rifle Pratt used to carelessly blast those elk. Just yesterday, another Washington judge resentenced Pratt to just under 10 years (116 months) in prison, which just so happens to be the longest big-game sentence in Washington in at least a decade.
Fortunately for those of us pulling for justice in this case, Pratt blew the basic conditions of his community custody and mental health alternative just as quickly as he got them. The original sentencing range for his crimes had always loomed as a possibility if he failed to comply, and with this slip up, that hammer finally dropped. The sentences will now run concurrently, and he’ll still owe roughly $10,000 in fines, plus two forfeited firearms for good measure.
The 2023 poaching spree came to light when a timber company employee stumbled upon the dead elk on a hillside near Aberdeen. Necropsies confirmed they were shot with a high-powered rifle and abandoned but a lack of additional evidence saw the case go cold for nearly a year. That is until WDFW Officer McOmber linked Pratt to the scene as he was caught cutting a locked gate and carrying two rifles, one of which just so happened to match ballistics from the killings. As a prior felon, he wasn’t even supposed to have guns, let alone be trespassing on private property and thrill-killing cow elk . Pratt eventually confessed.
In the end, even Washington’s most progressive sentencing tools have their limits — and this fella just proved what happens when you test them.
