A Lancaster County judge told John Stoltzfus he knew exactly what he was doing when he took the hard way to enter property posted against trespassing where he shot the first recorded kill of a black bear in the county.

Stoltzfus, 48, of Drumore Township, testified Wednesday that he had hunted the area for years and that there were no signs posting the Constellation Energy property against trespassing in the area he entered on Dec. 10, 2024.

But to get where he shot the 240-pound black bear, Stoltzfus acknowledged he went around a yellow gate at a parking lot near Peach Bottom Marina to get to Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, walked about about a mile and a half along the tracks and then up a 100- to 200-foot hillside face that a game warden estimated was 70 to 80 degrees steep.

After shooting the bear, Stoltzfus said he dragged and rolled it down the hillside, then used a wheeled game cart to roll it over railroad ties and to the parking lot.

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Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Baker said the cliffside did not require “no trespassing” signs because of the terrain and that Constellation had put up numerous “no trespassing” signs and blazes of purple paint, which is another legal way to post against trespassing, on its property adjacent to the road Stoltzfus would have used to get to the parking area.

Stoltzfus was before Lancaster County Judge Margaret Miller on Wednesday for a new trial after he appealed his Feb. 13 conviction before a district judge on trespassing and unlawful taking of wildlife charges.

“For someone … to pretend that he did not know he was on Constellation land and take the back door in, I don’t buy that,” Miller said before finding Stoltzfus guilty of the two charges.

Miller also noted Stoltzfus’ familiarity with the area: he lives about 2 miles from where he shot the bear.

Though the unlawful taking of wildlife charge carried a potential penalty of up to three months in jail, Miller said she had no intention of jailing Stoltzfus.

Instead, she fined him $1,500 — the maximum — plus $500 for trespassing, also the maximum.

Stoltzfus, who represented himself at the hearing — as he had in February — has 30 days to appeal. Miller suggested that if he does appeal, he consult an attorney.

Asked if he would appeal after the hearing, Stoltzfus said only that he had 30 days.

At February’s summary trial, Game Warden Daniel Gibble said Stoltzfus “stole the chance of a lifetime from other hunters” because he shot the bear while trespassing.

While Constellation had allowed hunting on the property for years, the company posted it in September because of thousands of dollars in hunting-related damage to an emergency services radio tower and problems with dumping and squatting.

Travis Lau, a game commission spokesperson, said the bear meat was donated after the animal was seized on Dec. 11, 2024, and the head and hide are being held as evidence, but could be used for educational purposes.

Stoltzfus will also likely have his hunting privileges revoked for some period, but not for life, Lau said.