By Gail Geraghty,Staff Writer

PARIS – Thursday’s sentencing of Maine guide Lawrence Perry marked a successful end to a high-priority poaching investigation involving 15 people, said Major Gregg Sanborn of the Maine Warden Service.

“The Maine Warden Service is ecstatic at the outcome,” said Sanborn. He wasn’t concerned that Perry, who took his case to trial, received a relatively light sentence compared to others in the case. “Every single one of the people charged in this investigation has either pleaded or been found guilty – and that’s our goal.”

Sanborn said the Warden Service is “very confident that we will prevail” in the Law Court appeal Perry has filed over his conviction on nine of 29 counts of illegal hunting violations.

“The facts of the case will speak for themselves,” Sanborn said, and show that Game Warden Bill Livezey acted properly in the conduct of his undercover operation, which focused on Perry.

The fact is, said Sanborn, that Perry was found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on nine counts of poaching, which simply means taking game or fish in violation of hunting laws.

“The sentencing aspect of the judicial process is honestly not as important to us as the finding of guilty,” he said.

Sanborn said despite Perry’s appeal, his conviction will trigger a review and likely minimum three-year revocation of his Maine guide license and his hunting license.

“If you ask a number of people on the street what poaching is, they’ll tell you it’s shining a light in a deer’s eye after dark. In fact, poaching is taking game or fish in violation of Maine’s wildlife laws – and this case has brought the activities of those involved into the public light,” Sanborn said.

“Overall, we’re very pleased.”