ANIMAL TRAINER FACES PRISON SENTENCE FOR PERJURY.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Charged with illegally signing a veterinarian's name on wildlife documents, the former director of the Fillmore Museum of Natural History is accepting a felony charge. Karl D. Anderson pleaded no contest to one charge of perjury perjury (pûr`jərē), in criminal law, the act of willfully and knowingly stating a falsehood under oath or under affirmation in judicial or administrative proceedings. , punishable by up to four years in state prison. ``What he actually gets will be up to the judge after the Probation Department makes a recommendation and both sides argue,'' said Deputy District Attorney Laurel McLaughlin. Anderson, whose educational animal shows have been popular around the state and beyond, was arrested June 13 on suspicion of forging his veterinarian's signature on a state Department of Fish and Game application to possess three restricted species - a wallaby wallaby: see kangaroo. wallaby Any of about 25 species of medium-sized kangaroos, found chiefly in Australia. Brush wallabies (11 species) are built like the big kangaroos but differ in dentition. Rock wallabies live among rocks, usually near water. , a crocodile crocodile, large, carnivorous reptile of the order Crocodilia, found in tropical and subtropical regions. Crocodiles live in swamps or on river banks and catch their prey in the water. They have flattened bodies and tails, short legs, and powerful jaws. and a sugar glider sugar glider Noun a common phalanger that glides from tree to tree feeding on insects and nectar , similar to a flying squirrel flying squirrel, name for certain nocturnal tree squirrels adapted for gliding; they do not actually fly. Most are found in Asia, but one species of the genus Pteromys extends into SE Europe and the two species of Glaucomys are found in North America. . Two misdemeanor charges, filing a false document and forgery, are to be dropped under the plea agreement finalized Friday. ``It's all related to the same application,'' McLaughlin said. ``When he signed the application under penalty of perjury, he was not being truthful because he had forged the signature of the veterinarian veterinarian /vet·er·i·nar·i·an/ (vet?er-i-nar´e-an) a person trained and authorized to practice veterinary medicine and surgery; a doctor of veterinary medicine. vet·er·i·nar·i·an n. . So the application process was the source of the perjury.'' Anderson, who is permitted to keep more than 430 species, said state officials sent him permit paperwork just days before it was due. Anderson reportedly exchanged telephone messages with his veterinarian, who according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Anderson, intended to sign the documents when he returned from a weeklong trip. Although he admitted to Fish and Game officials that he signed the veterinarian's signature, Anderson maintained he was unfairly prosecuted because of previous wranglings with game officers. During his preliminary hearing last September, Judge Charles McGrath ordered Anderson to stand trial, although the judge said he would have reduced the charges if he had authority to do so. This is not the first time the 44-year-old zoologist and author has been in trouble with Fish and Game officials. In November 1997, he pleaded no contest to five misdemeanor counts of keeping and transferring exotic animals without proper permits. But in sentencing him to probation last fall, the judge said jail time was not warranted because none of the unpermitted animals had been mistreated. Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11. |
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