SEATTLE (AP) — King County prosecutors have charged a 71-year-old Japanese psychiatrist with illegal possession of guns and illegal hunting.
They alleged Wednesday that Tohru Shigemura pretended to be a citizen of the United States to buy guns, which he used to kill six black bears in and around the Quinault Indian Reservation.
Detectives with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had been keeping tabs on Shigemura since 2007, after hearing a tip that he was trafficking in bear parts. Bear gall bladders are popular in traditional Asian medicine.
During a June search of his Seattle home, wildlife detectives found 11 firearms and several dried gall bladders. On a previous trip, The Seattle Times says Shigemura had been found by federal agents to be carrying another 18 gallbladders. He has denied trafficking in bear parts.
