With omnipresent technology around every corner to capture almost every move made in the world, it’s become harder and harder to commit a crime and go undetected.
The case of a mother black bear and her cubs being murdered in their own den by this father and son is prime example that few things escape the eye of Big Brother.
Back in April of 2018, Andrew Renner and his teenage son were on a hunting trip on Esther Island in Prince William Sound in the Gulf of Alaska.
What should’ve been a memorable bonding experience for the 41-year-old dad and his 17-year-old son turned into a crime that neither will soon forget.
The pair skied into a mama bear’s den and murdered her in front of her two defenseless and crying cubs. This bear family was doing nothing but hibernating.
After his son shot the sleeping mama bear twice, Andrew Renner then turned his gun on the two cubs to end their young lives.
The father and son clearly had no idea that the bears were part of a U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game study until after the family had been murdered.
Upon noticing the mama bear’s Fish and Game collar, Andrew acted to remove the collar and tell his son that no one would be able to “link” the crime back to them.
Before leaving, they butchered the mama bear and placed her in game bags.
Two days later, the pair would return to the scene to collect the dead bodies of the cubs, shell casings, and the tracking collar.
Andrew Renner decided to report the incident to the authorities two weeks after the killings.
He brought an adult bear skin and the tracking collar with him to Fish and Game.
However, he told the authorities the shooting of the mama bear was an accident, denied seeing any cubs, and failed to mention his son at all in the report.
What Renner still didn’t know was that this bear family was being recorded via a motion-activated research camera.
The authorities could see every malicious move the father and son had made, and they had video evidence to debunk every lie Renner told.
At one point, Andrew could even be heard telling his son that it (the killing) didn’t matter and “bear down.”
While black bears aren’t on the endangered list, it’s illegal to poach them.
Assistant attorney general Aaron Peterson wanted to make this point crystal clear to the public by adamantly arguing for jail time in this crime.
The father and son pled guilty to multiple misdemeanors, including the illegal killings and transporting the dead remains in attempt to hide their crime.
Andrew was also found guilty of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and falsifying sealing certificates.
Andrew Renner was sentenced to three months jail time, a $9000 fine, $1,800 in restitution, and to forfeit property confiscated during the investigation.
This property included an ocean boat, 2012 GMC truck, two handguns, two rifles, two iPhones, and two sets of skis. He also received a 10-year hunting license suspension.
As a minor at the time, Renner’s son, Owen, received a much lighter sentence.
Owen was ordered to a 30-day suspended sentence for four counts related to the killing and transportation of the deceased bears.
He was also ordered to pay $1,800 in restitution, not be able to get a hunting license for two years, take a mandatory hunter’s education class, and complete community service hours.
