No Charges in Cougar’s Shooting

A Rancho Santa Margarita man who shot a mountain lion in his backyard will not be charged because he acted in self-defense, prosecutors said Friday.

Bill Hill, 52, a former Stanton police officer, was taking out the trash early Jan. 17 when his wife saw the animal and screamed. Hill went to his car to retrieve a 9-millimeter pistol and went into the backyard. He saw the 90-pound cougar crouching on a slope 30 feet away. Fearing the animal would attack, Hill fired two shots.

Authorities killed the animal 90 minutes later as it lay in a nearby ravine.

It is illegal to shoot mountain lions, which are a protected species. Exceptions are granted if a cougar attacks pets or livestock, or in cases of self-defense.

State Department of Fish and Game officials had recommended a misdemeanor charge be filed against Hill, a private investigator.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever shot a lion in their backyard, at least not in this area,” said Lt. Daniel Sforza of the Department of Fish and Game. “Lion shootings, when they do occur, are in rural areas and involve ranchers and livestock.”

Officials had questioned the nature of the shooting after discovering that an entry wound on the animal, which apparently had wandered down from the Cleveland National Forest, didn’t appear to have been caused by the 9-millimeter handgun Hill said he had used.

However, Orange County prosecutors who reviewed the case said that necropsy results were inconclusive because investigators did not recover any of the fired rounds.

“Without finding an actual round, we can’t tell if it was done with another gun or a 9-millimeter,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Yonemura. “He was shooting in self-defense in the sense that he was worried about the community and children walking to school at the time.”