By Roger Alford
The Associated Press

An eastern Kentucky man charged with illegally killing a bear in his back yard has refused to plead guilty in order to avoid the possibility of jail time, opting instead to have his case heard in front of a jury.

Terry Brock, 36, of Mayking, said the bear was a renegade and that he killed it to protect his family.

The Letcher County man faces from 30 days to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted. He said the county prosecutor offered a plea bargain that would have required no jail time but he would have had to pay a $250 penalty, give up his hunting privileges and the heirloom 30-30 caliber rifle he used to shoot the bear.

"I didn't want to do that," Brock said. "I don't feel like I did anything wrong."

District Judge Jim Wood set Brock's trial for Sept. 20.

Brock, who has three children, said he walked out his door on June 2 to see what had his dogs and horse so disturbed and came face to face with the bear. He said he jumped back inside, asked his wife to call the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife for help, and began banging on the wall of his mobile home, hoping the noise would frighten the wild animal away.

When that didn't work, Brock said he grabbed an heirloom rifle and fired.

"It seems like he had a right to protect his family, his dogs, his horse, from this bear," said defense attorney Jamie Hatton. "It's not like he was poaching."

Letcher County Attorney Harold Bolling couldn't be reached to comment Wednesday. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, which filed the charge against Brock, doesn't want the case dropped.

In a region where complaints about the protected animals are on the increase, a trial could test how jurors in eastern Kentucky perceive the shooting of black bears that wander into residential areas.

For the first time in more than a century, Kentucky has a self-sustaining black bear population.

Brock, who has pleaded not guilty to illegally killing the bear, said he couldn't believe he was accused of a crime. He said the bear swatted at his dogs and had his horse so spooked that he feared it might break a leg trying to get out of its stall.