OZARK COUNTY, Mo. - A Missouri man has been charged after admitting to illegally killing a bear in early September.

According to online court dockets filed on Tuesday, Oct. 7, Curtis Hastings, born 1985, of Bakersfield, has been charged with three misdemeanors, which include importing, transporting, selling, purchasing, taking or possessing black bear/elk/parts inconsistent with rules of the code, taking or attempting to take deer with bait, and trapping without a trapping permit.

The probable cause statement says that an agent with the Missouri Department of Conservation spoke to two individuals over the phone on Thursday, Oct. 2, who told of a bear that was killed near Udall.

Officials spoke to Hastings on Friday, Oct. 3, outside his residence, where he first denied any knowledge of a

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