(Butte County, CA) – In Butte County Court, 33-year-old Greg Dudley of Gridley pled no contest to drowning a deer in the Sacramento River.

A witness called in an anonymous tip that they were fishing with Dudley “and others” according to a D.A. press release and that when Dudley saw the deer swimming across the river, he used his boat to circle it continually, preventing it from getting to shore. The witness said the deer appeared to be panicking and struggling and eventually, it drowned.

Dudley will be giving up his $80,000 boat as a result of the plea. It will be converted for use by game wardens.

Dudley was also sentenced to a year of probation, is prohibited from hunting for a year and fined $235.