Dead tiger's owner gets house arrest
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

The owner of the large Siberian tiger that prowled the Tierra Rejada Valley in early 2005 and was killed after a three-week hunt was sentenced to house arrest in a Los Angeles courtroom this week.

In addition to receiving an eight-month home detention sentence, Gert "Abby" Hedengran, 58, will be on probation for three years.

He was ordered to pay a $900 fine and a $250 special assessment fee.

Hedengran will also be responsible for the cost of his home confinement and must submit to random inspections of his property in Pahrump, Nev., where he still keeps exotic animals, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns, who prosecuted the case.

The sentence may seem lenient, but it sets a precedent nevertheless, he said.

"The reality is that most individuals that commit violations like this involving exotic animals are never prosecuted at all," Johns said.

"The important lesson here is that the community actually responded. We aggressively went after these individuals. (The Hedengrans) were prosecuted and held accountable and that would not have happened in most communities," said Johns, who lives in Moorpark.

Hedengran pleaded guilty to and was convicted of tampering with a witness, obstructing justice and maintaining false records regarding the animals.

"We certainly would have preferred the court to sentence him to 14 months in prison, but the eight months' sentence at home is still a reasonable and adequate punishment and deterrent," Johns said.

Hedengran and his wife, Roena, now live in Pahrump with their other exotic cats.

The judge allowed Hedengran to keep the cats he owns as long as he complies with the inspections, Johns said.

"He no longer shows them to the public, but there are no state regulations in Nevada regarding exotic cats," Johns said.

At least one Moorpark man thought Hedengran shouldn't be allowed to possess the animals.

"It's a shame," said Lance Sterling, a Tierra Rejada Valley resident who saw the tiger's paw prints near his home when the animal was on the loose.

According to Sterling, if Hedengran hadn't lied, the tiger could have been saved.

"This guy knew the tiger was out for weeks and he sat there and lied; it's just not right."

Roena Hedengran will be sentenced Monday. In a Nutshell + Gert "Abby" Hedengran, 58- Sentenced by a federal judge to eight months of home detention, ordered to pay a $900 fine and $250 fee and spend three years on probation. + Hedengran and his wife, Roena, were arrested in 2005 after it was discovered that a 600-pound tiger found roaming the Tierra Rejada Valley belonged to them. The tiger was on the loose in rural Ventura County for more than three weeks before it was shot and killed by a tracker.