YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — A man convicted of crimes involving the deaths of two bull elk has been sentenced to four years in prison, park officials said.

Michael Belderrain, 36, of Pipestone, Mont., was sentenced this week for offenses that occurred on U.S. 191 in and near Yellowstone.

In August, Belderrain pleaded guilty to three felony charges: being a felon in possession of a firearm, unlawful transportation of illegally possessed wildlife and unlawful possession of illegally taken wildlife.

Besides the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge William F. Downes imposed a $1,150 fine and $6,000 in restitution. The judge also said Belderrain must be supervised for three years after prison.

An investigation into the elk deaths began in the fall of 2005. Authorities arrested Belderrain in Butte last April.

National Park Service agents, Yellowstone rangers and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks wardens worked on the case with help from the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, sheriffs in Montana’s Gallatin and Jefferson counties and the staff at the Yellowstone National Park Geographic Information Systems Laboratory.