A Tucson man who shot and killed a bobcat last year that was part of a research study was sentenced Friday to 18 months of unsupervised probation.
Along with probation, William Scott Simmons, 71, must take a one semester course on urban wildlife at the University of Arizona, Pima County Justice Court Judge Kendrick Wilson ordered.
The bobcat who was shot and killed was commonly known as Sadie. It was one of the 31 bobcats that had been trapped and fitted with tracking collars as part of the Bobcats in Tucson Research Project. The study tracks bobcats between the Tucson Mountains and the Santa Cruz River in order to learn more about how they move through populated areas in search of food and places to give birth, the Arizona Daily Star has reported.
Simmons, a retired deputy for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, said he shot the bobcat because he was protecting his family and dogs. He was found guilty in a bench trial last month.
Simmons was also previously issued written warnings for using an unlawful method of wildlife take, recklessly discharging a firearm, discharging of a firearm within a quarter mile of an occupied structure and false reporting to law enforcement, the Star reported.
During Friday’s sentencing, the prosecutor described the shooting as “reckless and indescribably cruel,” adding that Simmons should have known better because he was a former law enforcement officer.
Simmons’ attorney, Janet Altschuler, told the court that her client has done nothing but contribute to society and be a law abiding citizen. She said nothing like this would ever happen again, and that he was acting out of kindness for his own pets.
Simmons said in court that he is an animal lover and felt like he was being punished for protecting his family.
The judge then ordered Simmons to attend the UA class and pay a $200 fine, which will go to the Arizona Wildlife Fund.
Simmons’ one day bench trial was held June 9. During opening statements, Altschuler told the court he had no intention of taking any wildlife, and fired warning shots at the bobcat in order to protect his four dogs.
Altschuler also noted that Simmons had previous experience with wildlife hurting his pets.
One of the prosecution’s witnesses, Kerry Baldwin, a retired biologist with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and member of the Bobcats in Tucson research team, told the court that they had received a mortality alert about 10:44 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2022, from Sadie’s collar. The bobcat’s carcass was later found between Whispering Bell Drive and Painted Hills Road.
A necropsy showed a gunshot wound that went from shoulder to shoulder. There was also trauma in the upper thorax area and one of her lungs was “clipped,” Baldwin said.
Aside from the gunshot wound, Baldwin said Sadie had been in excellent shape and recently had kittens.
Another witness, Tarah Clark, a wildlife manager for Game and Fish, said she was sent to the shooting scene a few days later in order to investigate Sadie’s death. In October, she went door-to-door to talk to neighbors.
When she spoke to Simmons, he denied having any knowledge about the bobcat killing, mentioning that a nearby neighbor may be of interest. Following their initial conversation, Clark and other investigators tried to contact Simmons again, but were unsuccessful.
After multiple failed attempts to contact Simmons, Clark and Nathaniel Foley, another Game and Fish investigator that also took the stand as a witness, spoke to him on Oct. 25. During their conversation, he eventually admitted to shooting the bobcat in defense of his four dogs.
Clark said Simmons told her Sadie was standing on top of a wall in his backyard. Since he and his wife were unable to get their four Chihuahuas away, he fired two warning shots.
Simmons then told Clark that Sadie did not leave the area after the warning shots and looked like she was preparing to attack the dogs. He then shot the bobcat.
Clark said Simmons told her he didn’t see where Sadie went after the shooting, and thought he might have missed.
