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Man sentenced to three months in prison for shooting and killing elephant seal

April 13, 2021

Jordan Gerbich

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The 30-year-old former Santa Maria resident who shot and killed an elephant seal in San Simeon in 2019 received a sentence of three months in federal prison on Monday.

On the evening of Sept. 28, 2019, Jordan Gerbich left his Santa Maria home armed with a .45-caliber pistol and drove to the elephant seal viewing area adjacent to Piedras Blancas Marine Reserve. Using a flashlight to identify his target, Gerbich shot and killed an elephant seal on the beach.

The next day, the dead seal was found on the beach with a single bullet hole in its head. Federal prosecutors say Gerbich’s motive for killing the seal remains unclear.

Last December, Gerbich pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of illegally taking a marine mammal.

Gerbich, now a Utah resident, faced a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison, as well as a $100,000 fine. As part of a plea agreement, federal prosecutors were expected to recommend United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer sentence Gerbich to six months in prison and one year of supervised release.

On Monday, Fischer sentenced Gerbich to three months in prison, followed by a three months of home detention and one year of supervised release. Gerbich must also pay a $1,000 fine and complete 120 hours of community service.

Northern elephant seals are a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They live up and down North America’s Pacific Coast and haul out on land in areas called rookeries. These rookeries are typically populated with elephant seals year-round, but populations vary throughout the year based on breeding and molting cycles.


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Ironically, he kind of looks like one.


2

This is upsetting to most of us. So senseless. If he had shot and killed a meth distributor I would be cheering him on. But no, he chose the path of least sense.


0

Hopefully this POS never owns another gun in his life.


10

Unfortunately, he will probably do his 120 hours of community service as a youth gun safety instructor in Utah :-(


0

Three months is a pathetically short sentence for this horrific crime. This worthless piece of human trash should have been locked up for multiple years. Harming animals for no reason is a known precursor for violent socialpathic behavior towards people. Mark my words, we will no doubt see this low life POS in another violent news story in the future.


28

Absolutely right! Abusers often start with animals before going on to harm humans.


I honestly don’t know why laws protecting wildlife are so lightly enforced. These crimes destroy the very creatures whose habitats we are trying to preserve – often at great cost to property owners and all taxpayers. The light sentences do nothing to stop or discourage this bad behavior. This went from a year in federal prison and a $100,000 fine to three months, $1000 fine and community service. Big deal!


17