July 18, 2018
From TheOlympian.com
A former U.S. Senate candidate accused of buying less-costly in-state hunting and fishing licenses when he was not a Montana resident pleaded guilty Wednesday to two misdemeanors as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Troy Downing acknowledged obtaining resident hunting licenses as a non-resident and unlawfully procuring a license or permit, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported . Those offenses happened between 2011 and 2016.
The pleas came less than a week after a motion to dismiss some of the charges was denied.
Downing, who unsuccessfully ran for this year’s Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Sen. Jon Tester in November, was ordered to pay a $2,110 fine and any court fees. He also must forfeit any hunting, fishing or trapping licenses issued by the state for the next 18 months and serve a one-year deferred sentence.