Misdemeanor charge filed in dead bear case

A South Shore man is scheduled to be arraigned next month in the July 9 shooting death of a bear.

Gilbert Wetenkamp faces one misdemeanor count of unlawful taking of an animal. This is a violation under the state Fish and Wildlife code. The maximum penalty if convicted is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The 2½-year-old bear was shot in the backside with buckshot from a shotgun. It was sprawled on its back at the base of a tree off Pioneer Trail near Minniconjou Drive in the unincorporated area of South Lake Tahoe.

Wetenkamp originally told investigators he shot the bear in self-defense.

The Sept. 25 hearing will be before Judge Steve Bailey in El Dorado County Superior Court in South Lake Tahoe.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report