PRESS RELEASES

2009 Notable Sheridan Region Law Enforcement Cases. Click here.

CHEYENNE – In a coordinated project with wildlife investigators from Utah, Colorado and Idaho, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department has issued more than 120 citations resulting in fines of more than $36,000.  The citations were issued to individuals that were claiming dual residency between the states for the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses.  An additional 60 warnings have also been issued.

 The violations were uncovered following a project initiated in 2007 by the Wyoming Wildlife Investigative Unit.  The project involved a resident license cross-check between Wyoming and the three neighboring states that combined computer programs from resident license purchases for 2005 and 2006 with data from Wyoming residents who purchased resident licenses during that time period. 

Of the more than 130,000 individuals in Wyoming who purchased resident licenses, 320 were found to be claiming dual residency.  Wildlife statutes in all the involved states allow the claiming of residency in only one state for the purchase of resident hunting and fishing licenses.

Further investigation of the 320 individuals found that 130 residents were not in violation as Wyoming statutes allow certain exceptions.  Some 90 individuals were found to be full-time residents of Wyoming and these have been referred to investigators in Idaho, Utah, and Colorado for prosecution of dual residency.

Wyoming investigators contacted the remaining individuals and received a variety of reasons for the dual resident license purchases.  Many thought dual residency was allowed, and claimed misinformation given by license agents.  Others knew it was a violation and were simply trying to get away with buying cheaper resident licenses.

According to Wildlife Investigative Supervisor Mike Ehlebracht, false oath violations are a serious concern for the department.  “This type of double dipping cheats hunters and anglers in all states,” Ehlebracht said.  “The department and the investigative unit are committed to identify and prosecute as many of these people as possible. We plan to continue these dual-residency law enforcement projects with the other states.”       

POACHER IGNORES WILDLIFE VIOLATOR COMPACT - 12/21/2009

CODY - A Worland man convicted of poaching in Colorado found out the hard way that the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact should not be ignored.

After committing violations in Colorado in 2004, Keith Searle had his hunting and fishing privileges suspended until Nov. 2010. “Searle moved to Wyoming and began hunting and fishing,” said Worland Game Warden Matt Lentsch. “However, an individual who loses their privileges to hunt in a state that is a member of the wildlife compact actually loses them in all 32 compact member states.”

According to Lentsch, Searle pleaded guilty to purchasing eight resident licenses while under suspension over a three-year period. He was also cited for taking a deer without a license, accessory to taking a deer without a license and two counts of accessory to transferring licenses.

Washakie County Circuit Court records show that Searle was ordered to pay $8,000 in restitution to the State of Wyoming and $390 court costs. He was ordered to serve three consecutive one-year jail terms in the Washakie County jail, with all but 90-days suspended. He was fined $840 and lost his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for 18 years.

“Searle was placed on four-years of supervised probation and ordered to sign a waiver of extradition. The conditions of his probation are very strict,” Lentsch said.

Searle’s probation conditions state that he is not to posses any firearms, bow, arrow, hunting knives, binoculars, spotting scopes, fishing equipment, or any item that is used in any type of hunting or fishing in any state. Nor is Searle to be in the presence of anyone that has any of the mentioned items. He is not to engage in any hunting, fishing, trapping and/or shed antler gathering, nor be in the presence of anyone engaged in these activities. “Searle was given 30 days to remove all hunting and fishing equipment from his possession,” Lentsch said.

According to Lentsch, wildlife violations are taken seriously by judges and prosecuting attorneys and the wildlife violator compact was created to serve as a deterrent to poaching. Any person whose license privileges are suspended in Wyoming would also be suspended in the other 31 member states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Anyone witnessing a wildlife violation can call the Stop Poaching hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP. Tips are most helpful with specific information such as the date, time, location and specific details about the suspected violation. Also include a physical description of the suspected violator as well as a license plate number and description of any vehicles involved in the incident. Stop Poaching tips can also be reported on the department’s web site at: http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/enforcement/stoppoaching/submitTip.aspx. Tips may result in a reward and informants can chose to remain anonymous.

MULE DEER POACHERS FINED OVER $11,000, LOSE HUNTING AND FIREARMS PRIVILEGES 11/23/2009

GILLETTE – A father and son from Gillette have been sentenced to more than $11,000 in fines and have had hunting and fishing privileges suspended as a result of the poaching of a trophy mule deer near Gillette.

Chase Winford, 21, paid $7,560 in fines and restitution and had his hunting and fishing privileges suspended for four years as a result of his illegal take of a trophy buck mule deer.

He was ordered to pay $5,560 in fines and half of the $4,000 in restitution for killing the buck without a license, shooting from a vehicle, and trespassing on private property without permission. The sentence was pronounced by Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Terrill Tharp. In addition, Winford’s hunting privileges were suspended for four years, and his fishing privileges were suspended for two years, making him ineligible to purchase hunting licenses until Sept. 4, 2013, in Wyoming and 31 other states. He was also charged with Interference With a Peace Officer, but the charge was later dismissed by the prosecution during a plea agreement.

Robert Winford, father of Chase Winford, was also charged and sentenced to pay $3,620 in fines and restitution and forfeited two rifles for taking part in the crime. Robert Winford also lost hunting and fishing privileges for a period of two years and cannot carry a firearm in the field during his suspension. 

The case started in the fall of 2008 when Gillette game warden Travis Crane observed a trophy mule deer near the highway. Crane sat and watched the deer that evening thinking it might be all too tempting for someone to shoot, given its location. Warden Crane happened to be in the right place at the right time and at dusk witnessed shots being fired from a small vehicle in the direction of the deer. The vehicle immediately left and Crane investigated the scene and saw that the buck deer had been shot and left.

Crane then waited to see if the individuals might return to get the deer. After about three hours his patience paid off when the vehicle returned and stopped at the location where the trophy deer was shot. Crane stopped the car, finding just one person by the name of David Martinez, from Texas, inside the vehicle. Martinez initially advised he alone had killed the deer and was taken to the Campbell County Detention Center.  Further investigation revealed a much different story. Martinez had lied to protect the Winfords who were allowing Martinez to stay at their apartment in Gillette.

Crane contacted Newcastle game warden Dustin Shorma to assist in the investigation and things became more complicated after they returned to the location to process the crime scene. The wardens found the deer had been moved a short distance and butchered. The head and cape were gone along with the best parts of meat, leaving the carcass and some edible portions behind. Further investigation led to two separate search warrants, and assistance from WGFD wildlife investigator Scott Adell, and game wardens John Davis, Irah Leonetti, Troy Acterhof, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agent Vance Jurgens, from South Dakota.

The officers were led on several false trips around Gillette to locate evidence.  Ultimately, evidence was seized from residences in Rapid City, SD, residences in Gillette, and dumpsters outside of the residence. Following the collection of evidence, and the defendants refusing to speak to the investigators, items were sent to the WGFD Crime Laboratory in Laramie.

Just prior to the first search warrant, Chase Winford and his wife left their residence at approximately 3:30 a.m. with the buck deer rack and meat from the deer. Winford said he threw the meat and the deer rack from the window of his vehicle along I-90 at 70 miles per hour to get rid of the evidence. Robert Winford and Chase Winford later located one half of the deer rack and a cooler of meat from the deer and turned it into WGFD officials. The Game and Fish lab compared the DNA collected from the poached deer at the scene with the meat turned in by the Winfords to see if it matched. Some of the meat did match, but the laboratory concluded that the cooler contained meat from nine different mule deer and white-tailed deer.

The Winfords were charged with shooting from a vehicle, trespassing, wanton destruction of a big game animal and interference with a police officer. 

“This case goes to show how vulnerable our trophy mule deer are,” said Travis Crane, currently the game warden in Kaycee.  “I observed this buck late at night on one other occasion and the second time I saw him, I watched poachers shoot and kill him.  This mule deer would have made an exceptional trophy for a legal hunter. Instead, the rack was busted into pieces and discarded along the highway as these poachers tried to hide evidence.”

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait – When nearly 30 Wyoming Army National Guardsmen tell their grandkids about their 2009-2010 tour in Kuwait and Iraq, among the trials of a war in far-away land, the chats may also include studying a subject near and dear to home: Wyoming hunter education.

For the battalion commander – Lt. Col./Wyoming game warden Brian Nesvik – the stories may include teaching the class.

With their precious off-duty time, these soldiers dedicated four evenings in October to Wyoming hunter education. The idea of “off-site learning” started with some battalion members approaching their commander – who is the south Pinedale game warden in civilian life – about teaching the class.

“My initial reaction when asked to teach the class was somewhat reserved,” Nesvik said. “As I thought about it in more detail and discussed it with Game and Fish coworkers, I decided that it was legally and logistically doable. As I started planning the class and ascertaining the interest from soldiers in the unit, I became more and more excited about taking it on.”

The student-guardsmen represented both officers and enlisted men and women and Wyoming and Utah residents. A few of the students had passed hunter education in other states as children before moving to Wyoming. Two others had earlier hunter education instructor experience in Wyoming and finished their training helping their commander teach the class. They’ll return home in mid-April as full professors.

2nd Lt. Tony Gerrell of Sheridan said although the class – required by anyone born after 1965 to hunt with a firearm in Wyoming – induced some homesickness, it was great for the participants. “They looked forward to it every week, just because it gets them out of the normal military mode and back into stuff they were doing back at home: messing around in the woods and in the mountains and stuff like that,” he said.

Lt. Col. Nesvik also appreciated the diversion. “The best part of the class was being able to interact with my soldiers on other than military topics,” he said. “While only a few hours at a time, it was a good break and gave me and my soldiers something to think about and participate in an activity that related directly to one of the main reasons we like Wyoming so much – wildlife.”

 “I think lastly, it symbolized and represented the concept of the citizen soldier. Most of the soldiers in this unit have other jobs and don't do an Army job full time. This was an opportunity for me, while only briefly, to do my civilian job while deployed.”

Although hunting is not a cornerstone of Kuwaiti culture, Nesvik reports there’s an active contingent of native falconers hunting healthy populations of mourning doves and some shotgunning takes place, too.

But dove hunting is not part of the 2nd Battalion 300th Field Artillery mission. The majority of the members conduct security for convoys carrying supplies to American forward operating bases in Southern Iraq. Nesvik says the second mission is providing security for American troop movements and Department of Defense personnel in Kuwait.

“I also have a spattering of other smaller scale missions that include providing Quick Reaction Forces to respond to, and provide security for, U.S. troop assistance requests,” Nesvik said. “They are the ‘911’ for U.S. forces in northern Kuwait and southern Iraq.”