Ex-officer charged in elk death accepts plea deal

One of two former Boulder police officers accused in the illegal killing of a trophy elk on New Year’s Day accepted a plea deal that sentences him to one year of probation and 60 days of house arrest.

The Daily Camera reports that 39-year-old Brent Curnow accepted the deal Tuesday afternoon in a case that drew outrage from the neighborhood where the elk was killed.

Curnow pleaded guilty to felony tampering with evidence and four misdemeanors. Other charges were dropped in exchange for the plea.

Fellow officer Sam Carter is accused of shooting the elk while on duty, and Curnow is accused of picking up the carcass. Carter has pleaded not guilty and has asked that his trial be moved out of Boulder because of the publicity.