The suspect in an alleged archery killing spree that left nine mule deer carcasses scattered around Cody was arrested remains in the Park County jail, and as the news has spread around town, locals are outraged.
Joshua Tamirat Wielhouwer, 20, of Jenson, Michigan, is being held on $36,000 bond, according to the Park County Sheriff’s Office.
He faces nine counts of taking a big game animal without a license and nine counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal, according to documents filed in Park County Circuit Court.
Cody’s urban mule deer are beloved in the northwest Wyoming town founded by William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. That’s why as people learn of the mass killing of deer from the herd spreads, so does anger over the wanton killing of the big game animals.
“It’s a good thing I did not find this jerk first,” posted one local resident to social media.
Each misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and/or a $10,000 fine.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for Dec. 11, according to the Circuit Court clerk’s office.
What The Charges Mean
Legal archery deer hunting seasons are open in much of Wyoming, including in some urban areas. But killing deer without a license or an intent to keep the meat is illegal.
Licenses, or tags, issued by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department are required to hunt deer in Wyoming. Hunters also are almost always limited to killing only one mule deer per year — usually a buck.
Regulations also require hunters to keep all edible portions of a big game animal. That includes the animals front and rear quarters, backstrap and tenderloin.
Failure to do so amounts to wanton waste of a big game animal.
The deer in the Cody case were allegedly left dead where they fell, with no apparent attempt to take any edible meat from the carcasses, according to court documents.
Nine Mule Deer Found Dead
Between Aug. 27 and Sept. 4, Two bucks, six does and a fawn were killed, and the carcasses were found with broadhead hunting arrow wounds, according to an affidavit written by Wyoming Game and Fish Game Warden Spencer Carstens.
Most of the carcasses were found scattered around the Park County Complex property. It houses the local library and other public buildings that are surrounded by green space and some small ponds.
It attracts some of Cody’s sizable urban mule deer herd.
Locals Outraged
The alleged killing spree and hunt for a suspect during those days apparently didn’t draw much attention. Several locals contacted by Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday and Wednesday said they hadn’t heard of the incident.
Upon finding out more details, Jim Zumbo, an avid hunter and noted outdoors writer who lives in Park County, called the alleged acts “despicable.”
“Nine deer, that’s serious,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
Cody resident Vince Vanata, a retired law enforcement officer, military veteran and hunter, expressed dismay over the loss of so many mule deer.
Mule deer are an iconic big game species. They’re struggling in Wyoming and across the West because of disease, habitat loss, competition with whitetail deer and other problems.
“If they (the deer killed) are all mulies, that’s huge concern. They are the main species of deer here in Cody,” Vanata told Cowboy State Daily.
During their pursuit of a suspect, game wardens found evidence, including arrows, according to Carstens’ affidavit.
A silver Ford Fusion was allegedly used by the suspect, and wardens found an arrow inside the car.
Wardens contacted the car’s owner, who told them the vehicle was being used by Wielhouwer, who was staying at the owner’s residence, according to the affidavit.
Wielhouwer was arrested on a warrant Monday, according to Cody Police Department records.
Deer Love Cody
Mule deer hang out in several places around Cody, and the green space surrounding the Park County Complex is one of their favorites, Vanata said.
As with Wyoming’s other urban herds, the Cody deer seem to enjoy the relative safety and abundance of grass and other food, he said.
Zumbo said that years past, when mule deer grew too numerous in Cody, there were sanctioned deer culls.
Those involved police officers killing some of the deer, and the meat was donated to people in need, Zumbo said.
“That was totally on the up-and-up,” he said.
That’s not even remotely the same thing as somebody apparently just killing mule deer for fun, Zumbo said.
“This is outrageous, if there was some guy out there popping deer, and just leaving them there to rot,” he said.
Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
