Colorado outfitter convicted in elk baiting case

DENVER (AP) — Federal jurors have convicted a western Colorado big game hunting outfitter accused of baiting deer and elk with salt.

Seventy-two-year-old Dennis Eugene Rodebaugh, of Meeker, was convicted Thursday of six counts of violating the Lacey Act, which governs the interstate sale of wildlife taken in violation of state regulations.

An indictment alleged Rodebaugh’s business, D&S Guide and Outfitter, had out-of-state clients who would shoot elk and deer in the White River National Forest near where he had placed hundreds of pounds of salt in the spring and summer.

Using bait to take big game is illegal in Colorado.

Rodebaugh could face prison time and a fine at a sentencing hearing set for Jan. 7.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.