The Clark County Justice Court, on Friday, sentenced Robert MacMillan Jr., 39, and Robert MacMillan Sr., 65, for illegally shooting the elk and taking them out of state.

Justice of the Peace, Michael Swingley, pronounced his judgment, charging the men for shooting six bull elk on the Cobb Ranch near Augusta Montana. The men have been pleaded guilty for failure to stop and report at a check station, hunting during closed season and unlawful possession of a bull elk.

Restitution for illegally shooting an elk is $1,000 and if it is a trophy size, then the restitution is $8,000. In addition to the fines, the men can't hunt in Montana for five years.

Others who have been pleaded guilty include Robert Church, 52, of Raymond who entered his plea via video teleconference. While Brent Schiller, 44, of McCleary, and Ken Mills, 48, of Montesano, have been previously sentenced.

The Cobb Ranch runs a private, lease hunting program and was part of a hunting district that was closed to bull elk hunting, at the time when shooting took place in 2010, 2011 and 2013. The ranch officials had no knowledge about the shooting event and assisted in the investigation.

The FWP began investigating in April 2014, after receiving a complaint from the Cobb Ranch, which found elk carcasses on the ranch. Bryan Golie and Dave Holland, FWP wardens, headed the investigations. All of the hunters were interviewed and their homes were searched. Wardens used photos taken by the hunters to find the actual kill sites. FWP also took core DNA samples of the antlers that were confiscated and compared it to DNA collected at kill sites.

In another attempt, the Montana wildlife officials have presented a plan to the state Fish and Wildlife Commission on Thursday, in an effort to reduce the chances of Canada lynx being caught in traps set for other animals outside Glacier and Yellowstone national parks.