Not defending, but to be fair all the charges could be explained by him honestly thinking he was in unit 28 instead of 21. 28 and 21 border each other. Reduced lion tags are even good in a lot of 21. 28 was legally open for all the species (reduced mountain lion would have to be in wilderness only).
Now it makes no sense how he could make that mistake, especially if you are familiar with those unit boundaries. Makes me think it was likely a deliberate act of deception, but nonetheless, it is possibly an honest mistake of unit boundaries.
Don’t really have a dog in the fight, so crucify him if you want, the story didn’t really accurately tell the facts unless you actually know the area and the associated seasons.