Daniel Dills awaits his fate in court | Credit: KAYE THORNBRUGH/Press
A Kootenai County jury has delivered a split decision in the family-based poaching case against a northern Idaho family, convicting all three members of conspiracy to conceal evidence while acquitting them on the more serious charges of conspiring to unlawfully kill and sell wildlife.
The verdict, reached Friday after roughly 10 hours of deliberation following a weeklong trial, brings a partial close to a case that drew attention for its family-wide entanglement and the questions it raised about small-scale, organized poaching in North Idaho.
Eddy Dills, Angela Dills, and their adult son Daniel Dills were found guilty of the felony charge of conspiracy to conceal evidence, while jurors acquitted the family on the two broader counts of conspiracy to commit unlawful killing of wildlife and conspiracy to sell unlawfully killed wildlife.
Prosecutors built much of their concealment case around events that took place on February 1, 2025, near the Little North Fork Coeur d’Alene River. After another hunting party encountered the Dillses; Eddy reportedly admitted to killing a mountain lion and planning to retrieve it. Witnesses later followed blood trails and tire tracks to the abandoned carcass of a mountain lion that had been shot through the eye, along with evidence of dogs, footprints, and bloody boot prints matching those later found in Daniel’s home.
Prosecuting attorney Monica Bushling noted that while the jury didn’t buy the full scope of the alleged operation, the evidence around that specific lion kill was compelling enough for the concealment conviction.
“Regardless of any concern (jurors) had about any animals that were involved, this verdict does mean they had enough confidence in the Feb. 1 lion that was taken to render a verdict of guilty,” Bushling said. “It would be impossible not to have found that there were illegal activities regarding that lion.”
The Dills fam | Credit: CDA Press
As we reported back in April, prosecutors accused the Dills family of operating a small-scale poaching ring from May 2024 through February 2025. Over that period, they allegedly killed four mountain lions and eight bobcats across multiple North Idaho counties, with plans to sell them through a backdoor buyer in Moscow. Eddy and Daniel carried out the hunts while under revoked privileges (Eddy for life since 2019, Daniel for three years starting in 2024) while the state claimed Angela helped legitimize the kills by filing reports in her name.
Evidence included recorded conversations, witness testimony, and prior violations. Yet the jury stopped short of accepting the full narrative of a sustained poaching-and-sales ring — one that, despite the risks, reportedly netted only modest returns around $1,700.
As of right now, sentencing is scheduled for August 31st before and the charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
“Fish and Game thanks the public for remaining vigilant in reporting potential wildlife crimes through the Citizens Against Poaching hotline,” the agency said in a statement. “Public involvement plays a critical role in ensuring Idaho’s fish and wildlife exists for future generations.”
