The Grays Harbor County man convicted of “spree-killing” at least five cow elk was resentenced to nine years and eight months in prison after he failed to comply with the provisions of his mental health sentencing alternative, according to a news release from the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
Richard L. Pratt, of Cosmopolis, must pay $10,000 in fines and forfeit two firearms as part of the sentence imposed by Grays Harbor Superior Court Judge Katherine Svoboda on March 27.
Pratt was previously sentenced to the mental health sentencing alternative and 36 months of community custody in November 2025 after pleading guilty to one count each of first-degree unlawful hunting of big game, first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and wastage of wildlife, according to WDFW.
The sentencing alternative was later revoked.
“We would like to thank Superior Court Judge Svoboda for taking swift action after Pratt violated his conditions of release,” said WDFW Captain Dan Chadwick.
“This sentencing highlights the importance of our big game natural resources not only in Grays Harbor but for all of Washington state.”
According to the release, Pratt was specifically sentenced to 68 months for unlawful hunting, 116 months for unlawful firearms possession and 364 days for wildlife wastage.
The sentences, which run concurrently, come over three years after the initial crimes took place.
“In January 2023, WDFW Police received a report from a private timber company employee who observed multiple dead elk on a hillside off the Ray Anderson A-Line south of Cosmopolis,” the release states. “WDFW Officers responded to the scene and immediately began investigating the suspicious circumstances. Necropsies revealed the suspect used a high-powered rifle.”
According to police, the elk were left to waste at the scene in an area closed for harvest.
During the investigation, WDFW police collected evidence, worked with witnesses and collaborated with the Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office, according to the release.
“Ten months after the initial crime, WDFW Officer McOmber encountered Pratt near the crime scene,” the release states. “Pratt had cut open a gate to enter the area and was found to be in possession of two firearms.”
As a convicted felon, Pratt was prohibited from legally possessing firearms.
“While interviewing Pratt at the scene, Officer McOmber established Pratt as the suspect from the earlier poaching case,” the release states.
Police later identified one of the firearms as the rifle Pratt used in the poaching, WDFW said.
“Further investigation and subsequent interviews confirmed Pratt was the person responsible for the spree killings,” the release states.
According to state law, first-degree unlawful hunting of big game refers to a person who “hunts for, takes, or possesses three or more big game animals within the same course of events."
Around the time of his initial sentence, WDFW announced that Pratt’s conviction came with a criminal wildlife penalty imposed with fines of $2,000 for each elk taken, along with a ten-year suspension of his hunting privileges.
“We are disappointed the defendant will not be serving any prison time,” Chadwick said at the time. “The Grays Harbor prosecutor worked hard for the plea agreement which included prison time, (and) we thank them for working diligently on this case.”
