A man who confessed to stamping an elephant on a California beach last year is facing a possible prison sentence. Protected species include animals under federal law.
Jorda Gerbich, 30, who now lives in Utah, pleaded guilty Monday to counting taking on marine mammals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement.
Prosecutors are recommending a six-month sentence, three of which could be home imprisonment under the terms of the agreement, but federal misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of one year in prison. The judge will decide the sentence at an April hearing.
It is not clear in court documents why Gerbich shot the animal. His federal public defender declined to comment Wednesday evening, and the phone number for Gerbich could not be found.
According to court documents, Gerbich Sept. On the 28th, 2019, an elephant went to a seal sighting area near San Simon on the central coast of California, with a flashlight and a .45-caliber pistol.
A bullet was found in the seal’s head whose tail was cut off and it was cut open, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The agency offered a 20,000 reward for information leading to the murder.
The petition states that Gerbich confessed to NOAA’s law enforcement office after his home was searched in January.
The seal of the Northern Elephant is protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act. About 1900 species became extinct from commercial hunting, but their numbers were recovered, according to the NOAA.
They are named elephant seals because males have an inflamed nose that makes loud noises when they try to intimidate and bully rivals during the breeding season.
