ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 16 (UPI) -- Two Alaskan men have pleaded guilty to buying and selling walrus tusks and polar bear hides, officials say.
Jesse James LeBoeuf, 47, along with his long-time girlfriend, Loretta Audrey Sternbach, 52, and friend, Richard Blake Weshenfelder, 50, were charged with buying 500 pounds of walrus tusks and two polar bear hides and illegally selling them, the Anchorage Daily News reported. LeBoeuf and Weshenfelder entered guilty pleas in court Friday; Sternbach is set to enter a guilty plea Tuesday.
When arrested, federal agents found 20 guns, including a machine gun, 30 marijuana plants and some coca plants at the couple's Glennallen, Alaska, home. Weshenfelder reportedly sold the animal parts online to out-of-state buyers.
All three are expected to be sentenced in November. Leboeuf faces up to nine years in prison, as he was also charged with possessing firearms as a felon. Weshenfelder faces five years and a $250,000 fine.
