Simi Valley man sentenced to 30 days in jail for fatally shooting mountain lion P-38 in the head

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A 60-year-old Simi Valley man on Thursday was sentenced to 30 days in jail for shooting and killing the mountain lion known as P-38, prosecutors said.

The sentence was handed down immediately after Alfredo Gonzalez pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of a protected mammal and vandalism to its GPS collar, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

Gonzalez's sentence also includes 30 days in a work-release program, 240 hours of community service at an animal shelter, three years of probation, and a fine of $150.

The rifle that Gonzalez used to shoot the animal was declared a nuisance by the court and ordered to be destroyed, according to news release from the DA's Office.

P-38 was born in 2012 and collared three years later by National Park Service biologists studying the mountain lion population in the Santa Susana Mountains.

Biologists recovered the mountain lion's collar after a "mortality signal" was detected on July 2, 2019.

The cause of death was later determined to be a gunshot wound to the head.