Former Pocatello restaurant owner sentenced after buying, selling pieces of wildlife

POCATELLO — A former Pocatello restaurant owner has been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to two counts of knowingly selling, purchasing or exchanging illegal wildlife.

Yan “Bo” Fong, 50, pleaded guilty to two felony counts after reaching a plea agreement with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office, court records show. In exchange, an additional 20 counts of the same charge were dismissed.

At a Monday hearing, District Judge Javier Gabiola sentenced Fong to two consecutive probation periods of 10 years. Gabiola suspended two prison sentences, three to five years apiece, and ordered Fong to pay $90,606 in fees and fines.

Fong had already been sentenced to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines in Montana for charges related to the same incident, according to ABC Fox Montana.

Fong, the former owner of the now-closed Bamboo Garden restaurant in Pocatello, was arrested in August 2020 after meeting with an undercover conservation officer to illegally purchase animal carcasses.

Court documents from Beaverhead County court obtained by EastIdahoNews.com show that Fong bought three black bear gall bladders, 12 black bear paws, one complete black bear with entrails and one complete black bear with entrails removed. He also bought one complete mountain lion, two bobcats, one cow elk and two mule deer during one exchange in 2017. A year later, he purchased parts from five separate black bears, among other animals.

In a recording made by the undercover officer during the sale, Fong said that the animal parts were to be sold illegally at his restaurant. He said that he offered bear and mountain lion meat as free meals to “the tour guide and bus people” who visited his restaurant.

In addition to the probation and fines, Fong has been ordered to complete 100 hours of community service and has lost his hunting, fishing and trapping rights in the state of Idaho “indefinitely.”

He has also lost his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges in 47 other states for six years.