DENVER - A Texas businessman and ranch owner accused of killing 32 bison turned himself in earlier this week, the Park County sheriff's office said Thursday.

Jeffrey Scott Hawn, 44, of Austin posted $15,000 bond on Monday and was released. He faces 32 counts of animal cruelty and one count each of theft and criminal mischief.

The bison were found in late March strewn across hundreds of snow-covered acres about 85 miles southwest of Denver.

Hawn had filed a lawsuit a few days earlier saying bison belonging to rancher Monte Downare had been stampeding onto his property and damaging or destroying trees, fences and a satellite dish. Downare said Hawn failed to repair the damage caused to his fences by wildlife and called Hawn's property damage an "act of god." South Park has endured a harsh winter, with heavy snow and high winds.

Of the 32 bison killed, only eight were shot on the Hawn property. The rest were killed on property not owned or controlled by Hawn and his Wateredge Properties.

Hawn's lawyer, Pamela Mackey, declined comment.