Music News

Singer Troy Gentry (of Montgomery Gentry) in hot water over death of tamed black bear

By M&C News Aug 16, 2006, 18:40 GMT

Troy Lee Gentry, part of the chart-topping country music act Montgomery Gentry, is facing some legal trouble over the death of a tamed black bear (said to be named Cubby) that federal officials say the singer bought for $4,650, killed, and then tagged the animal as being “killed in the wild.”

The 39-year-old singer from Franklin, Tennessee appeared in court on Tuesday before the U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson. The appearance (which also involved wildlife photographer and hunting guide Lee Marvin Greenly, 46 and of Sandstone) was part of a sealed indictment that was brought before a federal grand jury in Minneapolis.

Gentry has been accused of purchasing the black bear from Greenly, and killing the animal with a bow and arrow. Federal authorities claim the killing took place on Greenly’s property in October 2004 while the animal was in an enclosed pen.

Authority’s further claim that the singer and Greenly then tagged and registered the animal as a wild kill with the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

If convicted of the crime, the singer could be facing a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine. Gentry’s handlers have stated that they expect him to be found innocent of the crime.