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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Daily Darwin: Thursday, July 20, 2023 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Thursday, July 20, 2023

 Attention International Darwin Award Selection Committee: We have a winner...

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Hunting

An outbreak of canine distemper and other setbacks has left northwest Wyoming’s wolf population at a 20-year low, so the quota for the upcoming wolf hunting seasons is less than half of last year’s.

As of Jan. 1, there were 132 wolves in the wolf management area in northwest Wyoming, state Game and Fish Department biologist Ken Mills told the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission, during the commission’s meeting Tuesday in Sheridan.

The Game and Fish Department’s objective is for 160 wolves in that area, said Mills, a large carnivore biologist and wolf management specialist.

The department recommended setting the wolf mortality quota for the 2026 hunting season at 20, less than half of the 2025 44-wolf quota.

The mortality quota designates the number of wolves that can die, by any cause, before the hunt is shut down. 

If the mortality quota is met before the end date of the hunting season in that area, the hunting season is still shut down, regardless of how many hunters are left holding unfilled tags.

Hunters killed 31 wolves in 2025, falling short of the 44-wolf quota, Mills said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What About 1090F?"}]

Fans of Yellowstone National Park’s famous Wolf 1090F said her pack is denning in one of the hunt areas.

Some asked the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to carve out an exception to the proposed 2026 season regulations and suspend hunting in that area.

The commission voted unanimously to accept the wolf hunting seasons as proposed by the Game and Fish Department. Those include a quota of four wolves total in Hunt Areas 1 and 2 (Clarks Fork, North Fork).

Wolf 1090’s pack, the Mollie’s pack, is now denning on the Shoshone National Forest in Hunt Area 1.

The wolf hunt season there is set to run from Sept. 15 to Dec. 31.

In January, Wolf 1090F reached the age of 11 years, 9 months, making her the 

At that time, she surpassed the age of the legendary 907F, who died at roughly 11 years, 8 months old on Christmas Day in 2024 a few days after a fight with members of a rival wolf pack.

Just prior to the commission voting on the wolf seasons, Lisa Robertson of Wyoming Untrapped and Marke Cooke of Wolves of the Rockies called in to the meeting via Zoom to object.

Given the decline in the wolf population, Wyoming Untrapped and other wolf advocates would like to see wolf hunting suspended for two years, Robertson said.

Or, at least hunting should be suspended this year in Hunt Area 1 to protect Wolf 1090F and the rest of the Mollie’s pack, she said.

That would preserve an “internationally-recognized and highly-studied wolf pack,” she said.

Cooke also emphasized that the Mollie’s pack is prized by wolf researchers.

“Once they are gone, decades of irreplaceable knowledge are gone with them,” he told the commission.

Sparing the Mollie’s pack from being hunted could also bolster Wyoming’s image, Cooke said, adding that, "Wyoming is getting pretty beat up lately on some wildlife issues."

There have recently been high-profile cases of alleged wildlife abuse in Wyoming. 

Those include Daniel resident Cody Roberts capturing, tormenting and killing a wolf in February 2024. Also, a Unita County rancher allegedly videotaping two others 

Commissioner John Masterson noted that the Mollie’s pack is popular and frequently watched and photographed.

“From a pure management, scientific standpoint, is there anything substantially unique about that pack?” he asked the commission.

Mills responded that from the department’s perspective, “a breeding pair is a breeding pair, a pack is a pack” in terms of monitoring and managing wolves.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Numbers Down"}]

Wolves in Wyoming fall under three classifications, depending upon where they are in the state.

Inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, they remain protected and may not be hunted.

In areas immediately adjacent to the park — in the Game and Fish wolf management zone — they may be shot by licensed hunters only during set seasons and within mortality quota limits.

Outside of the management zone, which is about 85% of Wyoming, wolves are classified as a predatory animal and may be killed at any time, with no limits or hunting tag required.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wyoming is “committed” to maintain a population of 100 wolves, including 10 breeding pairs, inside the management zone, Mills said.

A breeding pair is male and female wolf that successfully raise at least two pups through the end of December.

Game and Fish wolf objectives include a “buffer” above the federal commitment, Mills said.

The department’s objective is for 160 wolves and 13 or 14 breeding pairs inside the wolf management zone, he said.

At the beginning of the year, there were 132 wolves in 22 packs, including 10 breeding pairs, Mills said.

The decline in wolf numbers might be largely due to an outbreak of canine distemper, which started in the fall of 2025 and has been especially hard on wolf pups, Mills said.

Wolf populations tend to recover quickly, he added.

For the wolf population stabilize at 160 by the end of 2026, as many as 63 could die of all causes, he said.

Of those, 35 could be “human-caused” wolf deaths by year’s end, Mills said.

Allowing for 15 wolves to be killed for such things as attacking livestock, that leaves a hunters’ quota of 20 across the entire wolf management zone, he said.

Howling wolves 7 14 26

<title>Wyoming Game And Fish Commission Cuts Wolf Hunt Quotas By More Than Half | Cowboy State Daily</title>

With northwest Wyoming’s wolf population at a 20-year low, the state Game and Fish Commission on Tuesday cut the wolf hunt limits by more than half. Some advocates said that’s not enough, arguing to suspend hunting wolves altogether.

Wyoming Game And Fish Commission Cuts Wolf Hunt Quotas By More Than Half

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A summer camp drive through Cody took a disturbing turn when, investigators say, a group of children allegedly found themselves looking out the windows of their van at a man driving alongside them without pants and pleasuring himself while making eye contact with those in the van.

Court records show that rather than let him disappear into traffic, two camp counselors followed the vehicle through Cody, photographed its license plate and called law enforcement.

Cody police officers say they quickly realized the registered owner was someone they already knew.

Andrew Crawford, a Cody resident born in 1988 and a registered sex offender, has been charged with felony indecent liberties with a minor and several public indecency misdemeanors spanning multiple years. 

who was convicted of public indecency in April 2023 after he repeatedly exposed himself to female baristas at Cody coffee kiosks during the fall of 2022.

Those incidents continued for weeks before one barista responded by dumping scalding 170-degree water into Crawford's lap after he exposed himself. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"6 Juveniles "}]

Park County dispatch got the report about Crawford's more recent allegations at about 4:34 p.m. on Friday, court records show.

One of the camp counselors told investigators that he and another counselor were traveling through Cody with six juveniles when a blue Chevrolet Impala pulled alongside their van.

The counselor reported that the driver had removed his pants and was masturbating while looking through the van's windows. He told deputies all six campers and both counselors witnessed the alleged conduct.

Dispatch identified the vehicle as being registered to Crawford, whom the investigating officer wrote he recognized from prior law enforcement contacts involving similar allegations.

Court records show he was accused of exposing himself to two girls and their mother in a Cody Walmart parking lot in 2011 — this while under investigation for allegedly possessing child pornography while serving in the U.S. Air Force in 2009. 

He was sentenced in 2012 to 72 months in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Witnesses Identified Crawford"}]

Investigators presented the counselors with a six-photo lineup, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

Before the officer had finished explaining the identification process, a counselor said he already knew who the suspect was and immediately identified Crawford's photograph. 

He told investigators he recognized him by his bald head, facial hair and face shape, saying the only difference was that the driver had been wearing glasses.

The other counselor also identified Crawford as the man he said he made eye contact with during the incident, says the affidavit.

The following morning, investigators reviewed the counselors' written statements. 

"Both witness statements corroborate the emotional distress and shock of the juvenile campers after they all witnessed the same exposed genitalia and masturbating motions with his hand on his penis," says the affidavit. 

Investigators also confirmed with camp's operations director that the van's windows were not tinted and that passengers inside were clearly visible from outside.

Because Crawford has prior military and Wyoming convictions involving public indecency and sex offender registration violations, the investigating officer asked prosecutors to expedite an arrest warrant, he wrote. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Deputies arrested Crawford later that afternoon without incident."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Court Proceedings"}]

Crawford made his initial appearance in Park County Circuit Court on Monday, where a judge set his bond at $100,000 cash only.

[{"type":"text","text":"If released, Crawford must remain in Park County as a condition of bond."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 22 in Cody."}]

Andrew Crawford Cody sign 7 14 26

<title>Repeat Cody Sex Offender Accused Of Pleasuring Himself Next To Van Of Camp Kids | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A registered Cody sex offender is accused of exposing and masturbating alongside a van of camp kids while making direct eye contact with those in the van. He’s the same man convicted in 2023 for repeatedly exposing himself to female coffee baristas.

Repeat Cody Sex Offender Accused Of Pleasuring Himself Next To Van Of Camp Kids

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Despite a Wheatland police officer running out of gas during a harrowing chase of up to 112 mph through two towns, the driver of a white BMW failed his second attempt to elude law enforcement.

Taron Hunziker-Ford, 27, had already eluded Colorado State Troopers prior to driving north on Interstate 25 to Wheatland on Sunday, Wheatland Police Department Officer Jesse Walton says in an affidavit filed Monday in Platte County Circuit Court.

Walton wrote that Wyoming officials had been alerted to watch out for Hunziker-Ford, who was wanted on “multiple felony warrants out of Colorado.”

When he saw the white BMW with no back bumper and a temporary Colorado registration tag driving north on I-25 at about 7:09 p.m. Sunday “traveling at excessive rates of speed,” Walton says in his affidavit the pursuit was on.

At one point, Hunziker-Ford attempted to get off the interstate at exit 87, “but the exit is too sharp and his speeds were too fast,” the affidavit says. “He pulled out of the turn and continued northbound.”

By that time, Walton wrote that he was driving more than 100 mph and having trouble keeping up with the BMW.

When Hunziker-Ford got to highway 26, he took it east toward Guernsey, and Walton followed, the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","text":"From there, the BMW led police on a dangerous 26-mile ride to Guernsey."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ran Out Of Gas"}]

“I could see the vehicle still ahead of me and what appeared to be passing other vehicles on the right shoulder — and my speed was at 111 mph shortly there (when) the BMW turned southbound on Highway 320 and continued back south toward Wheatland,” Walton wrote.

While topping 112 mph, the officer reports that he was having a hard time trying to catch this vehicle.

In the meantime, the BMW also failed to stop for other law enforcement in pursuit and set up in its path, the affidavit says.

When Hunziker-Ford got back into Wheatland, Walton hit another obstacle in the chase.

“At about this time I reached Oak Street and my vehicle ran out of fuel and I lost site (sic) of the vehicle,” he wrote.

Walton was not out of the chase for long, as Wheatland Police Chief Bradley Otte picked him up and they continued after the BMW, as was a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper and Guernsey police.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Gave Us A Shoulder Shrug’"}]

With the BMW ahead of Walton and the police chief, and other officers in front of the fleeing vehicle, “we tried to attempt to make a stop on him,” the affidavit says.

That’s when Hunziker-Ford “stopped at the stop sign there at 317 and looked at us, gave us a shoulder shrug, and continued eastbound,” Walton wrote.

By then, the end was near for Hunziker-Ford because Guernsey police officers had set up spike strips in his path ahead, which he ran over.

“(The chief) and I continued to follow the vehicle for another 3 to 4 miles when he finally was unable to keep the vehicle on the road and he drove it off the south side of 27 into the ditch, through the fence, spun out about 75 yards into the field,” the affidavit says.

Law enforcement was right behind and approached the BMW with their weapons drawn, but “the driver did not respond to any commands,” the affidavit says.

Hunziker-Ford appeared incoherent and was unresponsive, so was pulled from the BMW and handcuffed.

After being evaluated at a hospital in Torrington, Hunziker-Ford was booked into the Platte County Jail on suspicion of fleeing or attempting to elude police and reckless driving.

Both are misdemeanor charges, punishable by up to six months in jail and fines of up to $750.

He was arraigned Monday and remains in the Platte County jail on a $3,000 cash bond, according to court records.

Taron Hunziker Ford and Wheatland sign 7 14 26

<title>Wheatland Officer Runs Out Of Gas During 112 MPH Chase, Still Gets Driver | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Despite a Wheatland police officer running out of gas during a chase of up to 112 mph through two towns Sunday, the driver of a white BMW failed to elude law enforcement. The driver also at one point looked at pursuing officers and shrugged.

Wheatland Officer Runs Out Of Gas During 112 MPH Chase, Still Gets Driver

A 70-year-old Gillette man's treasured classic 1965 Ford Mustang disappeared from his driveway, then turned up about 100 yards away in a neighbor's shop with its hood open and connected to a battery charger.

By then, investigators say the older man — who Campbell County Sheriff’s Office deputies describe as frail, having dementia and living in squalor — had allegedly signed paperwork transferring the car to the neighbors for $500 and a promise that his lawn would be mowed every weekend until he died.

Deputies now allege that wasn't a bargain, they believe it was exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a felony.

Jeremy Talon Boggs and Jazlyn V. Foltz are accused of taking advantage of the man's declining mental condition to get the classic Mustang, which investigators estimated is worth anywhere between $30,000 and $44,600.

Court documents show the couple allegedly insisted the man willingly sold them the vehicle. 

The 70-year-old, however, told deputies he didn't know who they were and never gave anyone permission to take his car.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Neighbor's Call"}]

The investigation began Saturday afternoon after other neighbors of the man on Peaceful Valley Drive called the Campbell County Sheriff's Office.

They told deputies he suffered from dementia and believed Boggs and Foltz had recently begun spending an unusual amount of time at his home.

One neighbor reported seeing flashlights moving around the man's property the previous night. The following morning, the man's classic green Ford Mustang was parked at the home of a nearby residence occupied by Boggs and Foltz.

Neighbors said the had always considered the Mustang one of his prized possessions and repeatedly told them he would never sell it because it was such a beautiful classic car.

Concerned they were watching an elderly neighbor being taken advantage of, they called law enforcement.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Inside The Home"}]

When they responded, deputies found the man seated in a recliner, according to an affidavit of probable caused filed in the case.

According to the affidavit, he appeared "extremely weak and feeble" and was unable to answer basic questions, including that day's date or his own phone number.

Investigators described the home as being in severe disrepair with trash, spoiled food and other biohazards throughout the residence.

During the interview, deputies noticed the older man also struggling with basic personal care. 

Investigators concluded he was unable to properly care for himself and "was not sound of mind" while speaking with deputies.

Adult Protective Services had already been notified of the man's situation and was reportedly planning to visit the following day.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Mustang"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Deputies then went looking for the car, the affidavit says."}]

They found it inside a shop on Commerce Drive with its hood open and connected to a battery tender.

Boggs told investigators he had bought the Mustang from the man for $500. As part of the deal, Boggs said he promised to mow the man's lawn every weekend for the rest of his life.

Foltz allegedly told deputies the older man initially wanted $10,000 for the car before negotiating the final arrangement.

Boggs also played a cellphone video that he said showed the man signing a bill of sale.

Deputies reviewed the paperwork and noted what they believed were several red flags, according to the affidavit.

The bill of sale listed the wrong model year for the Mustang, was not properly notarized and included Foltz's signature as a witness, reported Campbell County Sheriff's Deputy Kyle Rhoades.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Two Different Stories "}]

Deputies told the couple that the man had just informed investigators he didn't know who they were and had no knowledge of selling his Mustang.

According to Rhoades, Foltz responded that the man had known her name during a recent conversation and appeared "lucid."

Boggs and Foltz also defended the price they claim was agreed to for the classic car.

They told deputies the man owned five vehicles and no longer needed the Mustang.

A deputy estimated the Mustang's value at approximately $30,000. A later JD Power valuation placed it at roughly $44,600 in average condition, the affidavit says.

The vehicle was seized and towed to the Campbell County Sheriff's Office evidence lot.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Charges Filed"}]

On Monday, Boggs and Foltz were each charged with one count of exploitation of a vulnerable adult and one count of grand theft before Campbell County Circuit Court Judge Paul S. Phillips. 

Because investigators estimated the Mustang was worth between $30,000 and $44,600, the case qualifies as grand theft under Wyoming law, which applies to property valued at more than $1,000.

Both felony charges carry maximum penalties of up to 10 years in prison. If convicted on both counts, each defendant could face up to 20 years behind bars.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bond was set at $7,500 cash or surety for each defendant."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A preliminary hearing for both is scheduled for July 20."}]

Campbell County sign and sheriffs office 7 14 26

<title>Gillette Couple Accused Of Scamming Neighbor With Dementia Out Of 1965 Mustang | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Gillette couple is accused of exploiting a 70-year-old neighbor with dementia into giving them his classic 1965 Mustang worth more than $44,000. In return, they allegedly said they’d give the man $500 and promised to mow his lawn once a week for life.

Gillette Couple Accused Of Scamming Neighbor With Dementia Out Of 1965 Mustang

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

The DUI case of state Rep. Bill Allemand has shifted into a spat between lawyers about how they’re handling it, and a possible criminal action against Allemand’s defense attorney.

Allemand, a Republican of Midwest, Wyoming, was 

 with DUI, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and $750 in fines. He’s set for trial Sept. 16.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Circuit Court Magistrate Jeremy Kisling has ordered Allemand’s attorney Mike Vang to appear in court Wednesday to “show cause” for why he did not attend a hearing last week.

Kisling had issued a June 26 order setting the July 8 hearing so that Vang could argue support for his allegations that the case prosecutor, Johnson County Deputy Attorney Joshua Stensaas, hasn’t given enough evidence from Allemand’s chemical blood test.

Stensaas in his own filings has called that assertion false — or at least refuted by his email records with Vang’s office.

Vang did not show for the July 8 hearing where Kisling had planned to weigh these 

Cowboy State Daily had contacted Vang by phone the night prior, July 7, to ask whether the hearing was still set. 

Vang said he was unaware of the hearing, could not attend, and would file a “motion for continuance,” which is a rescheduling request. 

He confirmed he was on the record during that phone call by adding, “and that’s my comment.”

No motion for continuance of that hearing appears in the public court file.

Kisling issued an order July 8 saying Vang’s “failure to appear may constitute a failure to comply with a lawful order of the court and may warrant the imposition of sanctions and indirect contempt of court.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Kisling ordered Vang to appear for a hearing at 4 p.m. Wednesday."}]

Vang wrote back in a motion, saying he and Allemand “did not intentionally fail to appear” for the July 8 hearing and that Vang “inadvertently failed to notice” the July 8 hearing setting at the bottom of the judge’s earlier order, so he failed to put it in his calendar.

Vang asked the court to reschedule his contempt hearing from July 15 to some other date.

He said he can’t attend Wednesday because he has a 3 p.m. hearing in Albany County’s Laramie Circuit Court. 

Kisling checked that assertion and, according to a July 10 order by the magistrate, found it incorrect.

“Court staff in Johnson County contacted Albany County Circuit Court to confirm a setting for Mr. Vang on that date,” wrote Kisling. “The court docket in Albany County does not have a scheduled hearing for Mr. Vang at the time asserted in Mr. Vang’s motion.”

[{"type":"text","text":"So Kisling denied Vang’s request to reschedule."}]

Later that day, Vang submitted a filing saying he’d had another issue with his calendar.

He attached a scheduling order from June 9 that showed he had been set to appear in Laramie Circuit Court on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m

 Vang acknowledged that the 2:30 hearing has since been rescheduled. 

But, he said, he hadn’t taken the original setting off his calendar when he’d originally protested the schedule conflict to Kisling.  

“Again, Mr. Vang did not intentionally file information to mislead the court, and simply still had a hearing date on his calendar that had been reset for a later date,” says Vang’s motion. 

Criminal contempt charges against attorneys are uncommon but 

[{"type":"text","text":"They’re different from civil contempt charges. "}]

In a civil contempt case, a judge penalizes someone to make him honor an order. In criminal contempt charges, the judge is punishing someone for having already disrespected the court.

[{"type":"text","text":"Vang declined Tuesday to comment."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Body Camera Is Out"}]

In the same motion in which Vang had urged Kisling to reschedule the contempt hearing, Vang also asked Kisling to address two actions by “the state” that Vang calls problematic.

Firstly, Vang took issue with Stensaas “(accusing) Mr. Vang of making false representations to the court as it relates to … the litigation support package.”

The judge in state Rep. Bill Allemand's ongoing DUI case may hit his defense attorney with a contempt charge for missing a hearing. The attorney says he “did not intentionally fail to appear” and calls the no-show a scheduling mishap.

Daily Darwin: Thursday, July 20, 2023

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