Tahoe man won’t be charged for killing bear he said was in his kitchen

A South Lake Tahoe man who fatally shot a bear he said was in his kitchen will not face criminal charges.

The May 27 shooting at a home near the south end of Pioneer Trail was investigated by the El Dorado County district attorney’s office, which issued a report on June 25. An earlier investigation by state wildlife officers also determined the homeowner had done nothing illegal.

A petition urging the DA to look into the shooting was spearheaded by the BEAR League, which characterized the bear’s death as an “indiscriminate vigilante-style killing.” The Tahoe-based group cited the statement of the man’s neighbor, who said the bear never got more than halfway through the door and was fleeing into the yard before the first shot was fired.

The investigators’ report, however, said physical evidence corroborated the man’s claim that the bear was in the house when at least the first of the three shots was fired.

The bear — a young male, about 75 pounds — was in the yard when the homeowner fired the final shot, the report said.

The man then called 911 and said he had killed a bear that “was going to eat my dog.”

The DA’s office concluded that “the suspect … shot the bear out of a concern for the safety of himself and his property,” and that the shooting thus did not qualify as animal cruelty or a hunting violation.