PIERRE - The owner of a Pierre game-processing shop who accused a federal agent of framing him was fined $2,100 on Friday for a federal conviction of possessing untagged geese.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Moreno of Pierre said there is no need for Caleb Gilkerson to spend time behind bars, particularly since his conviction for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act amounted to a petty offense under federal law.

"It's not the crime of the century," he said, noting the maximum allowable sentence would be six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000.

But the magistrate also pointed out that the $2,100 fine he imposed is the same that embattled U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent Bob Prieksat sought to get Gilkerson to pay when the agent first ticketed him in December.

Gilkerson, who was among a group who sought unsuccessfully to have Prieksat fired or transferred, instead insisted he was innocent and went to trial.

Gilkerson said Friday he intends to appeal his conviction and sentence, which includes six months probation. He said he will pay the fine within a week.

Moreno presided over Gilkerson's one-day trial in May and found him guilty. The fine amounts to $75 for 28 untagged geese, the magistrate said.

Prieksat testified during the trial that he found untagged geese in Gilkerson's game-processing business in December, and a state game warden agreed. Prieksat said those tags are required to identify which hunters have shot birds and whether they have exceeded the bag limit.

Gilkerson testified that he believed Prieksat framed him by removing tags from some geese the agent found in the freezer at Steamboat Game and Fish, which processes wild game and offers guide services for hunting, fishing, kayaking and scuba and skin diving.

Gov. Mike Rounds had asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fire Prieksat or transfer him because the governor believed Prieksat had been too aggressive and rude in checking whether hunters were complying with the law. An agreement reached in June allows Prieksat to continue supervisory work, but he will no longer work as a field agent except in emergencies or when directed by his supervisors on federal or tribal land.

During Friday's sentencing hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikal Hanson said Gilkerson's friends consider him a good, hardworking person, and his crime is not nearly as serious as the violent offenses frequently handled in federal court.

However, Hanson said he is upset Gilkerson based his defense on a false claim of being framed. Gilkerson should have followed his defense lawyer's arguments that technical difficulties make it hard to comply with the law, Hanson said.

"Instead, he concocted a story about being framed by Officer Prieksat," Hanson said.

Gilkerson might have become caught up in the emotions of the crowd of people who were out to get Prieksat, the prosecutor said. "He just lost sight of the importance of what coming into court and telling the truth meant," Hanson said.

But defense lawyer Wade Reimers of Pierre said there was evidence on both sides of the dispute, and some other trial witnesses supported Gilkerson's version of events.

"He went up there and told it like he thought it happened," Reimers said. "He stood up for what he thought was right."