The eldest of two brothers involved in a poaching incident in Grand Teton National Park in September pled guilty and received a fine and probation Friday.

Tracy Palmer, a 32-year-old Rawlins man, was charged with illegal spotlighting of wildlife, discharging of a weapon in a national park and attempting illegal take of wildlife. Rangers cited Palmer at about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 10 when they caught him crawling out of the underbrush and attempting to hitch a ride after allegedly trying to kill a bull elk just south of Triangle X Ranch.

U.S. District Court Magi-strate James Lubing fined Palmer $1,025, gave him one year of unsupervised probation and revoked his hunting privileges for a year for attempting illegal take of wildlife.

“That’s pretty serious business to be out there in the dark spotlighting elk,” Lubing said.

Lubing also specified that Palmer could not get caught driving with any measurable amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.

Lubing cited Palmer’s three previous DUIs, the last of which occurred in 2001, in his decision to make drinking while driving a violation of Palmer’s parole.

“I hardly ever drink anymore,” Palmer told the court.

Palmer allegedly shot at an elk, but did not hit the animal.

Lubing warned Palmer against violating the conditions of his parole: “You could get locked up for a significant period of time.”

Palmer’s brother, 25-year-old Ryan Palmer, also was scheduled to appear in Lubing’s court Friday, but his attorney told Lubing that Ryan Palmer was currently in the custody of the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office on other charges. Palmer also has a prior felony in Arizona, according to officials.

Officers cited Ryan Palmer, 25, for open container, possession of methamphetamine, illegal possession of loaded firearms in a national park and illegally spotlighting for wildlife after a Teton County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled him over for allegedly swerving in his 1992 black Chevy pickup truck near the Snake River overlook at about 2 a.m. Sept. 10.

Officials say Ryan Palmer dropped his brother off just south of the Triangle X Ranch to hunt an elk shortly before the sheriff’s deputy pulled him over.

The sheriff’s deputy contacted Teton Interagency Dispatch to report a possible ongoing poaching incident, and rangers were dispatched to search for Tracy Palmer and to take over questioning of Ryan Palmer.

Officers didn’t find Tracy Palmer until 9:30 in the morning.

“I was sitting in the forest underneath a tree hoping he would come back and pick me up,” Palmer told the court. Tracy Palmer admitted that he tried to shoot an elk, but said the weapons and the drugs belonged to his brother.

Park officials said both brothers were “compliant and cooperative” with officers.