Putting the pedal to metal and crashing through gates in Johnson County with a mule deer buck strapped to his flatbed may have seemed a good escape plan for a Wyoming poacher.
He thought wrong.
Instead of getting treats for his tricks last Halloween, he found himself surrounded by sheriff’s deputies and a game warden. That’s according to a report in the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s annual law enforcement summary for 2021, which was released last week.
It doesn’t identify the suspect.
Thundering Flatbed
Buffalo Game Warden Jim Seeman got a report Oct. 31 that a mule deer buck had been illegally shot and killed northeast of town. A witness had spotted the deer on the back of a flatbed pickup in an area that was closed to deer hunting, according to the summary.
“The witness was following the suspect vehicle, but the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and driving through fence gates, destroying them in the process,” the summary said.
Trick, No Treat
The spooky show ended quickly. By the time Seeman arrived on the scene, he found the suspect in the company of “several sheriff’s deputies” who had stopped to truck and apprehended him, the summary says.
After being interviewed by the deputies, the man admitted to trespassing on private property and killing the buck.
He was treated to a $9,000 fine, plus undisclosed restitution for property damage.
