A Uinta County rancher charged with videotaping two others torturing a sickly moose by roping, riding, spurring, and dragging the animal in May 2021 is continuing toward a trial date next month.
Two other men in the case have entered plea deals with a special prosecutor.
Court records show Justin Martin, 54, of Evanston, faces an Aug. 11 trial on charges of two counts of accessory before the fact to felony cruelty to animals, and two counts of accessory before or after the fact to wanton taking of a big-game animal, both misdemeanors.
His son, Range Martin of Evanston, 23, pleaded guilty June 22 to a felony cruelty to animals charge in return for the dropping of two misdemeanor charges. Kylan Platte, 22, of Malad City, Idaho, took a similar deal from Special Prosecutor F. Gaston Gosar, pleading guilty to felony cruelty to animals June 30.
Under the deal, charges against both men of wanton taking of a big-game animal and possession permit required for warm-blooded wildlife were dropped.
Court records show Range Martin “provided a sufficient factual basis for his plea, including identifying defendant Justin H. Martin as the person speaking on the video(s) and taking picture(s) on or about May 21, 2021.”
In his plea agreement, court records show Platte also agreed to identify Justin Martin for his role taking video and photos on May 4, 2021, as he rode, roped and spurred a moose.
The agreement for both men calls for three years of supervised probation under Wyoming Statute 7-13-301, which allows the court “without entering a judgment of guilt or conviction” to place the defendant on probation and dismiss the proceedings when probation ends.
The deal states that both men would agree to no hunting, trapping or fishing during probation and other conditions “enumerated” by the court, as well as pay a $1,000 fine.
The court records show Judge James Kaste was not a party to the agreement, meaning he could accept or reject it at sentencing. Kaste ordered pre-sentence investigations for both men.
The Background
Charges against the men began with a Wyoming Game and Fish Department investigation that involved the seizure of Justin Martin’s phone on a separate issue. Game and Fish found video and screenshots of the alleged abuse of a cow moose by Justin Martin and Platt on May 4, 2021, and Justin and Range Martin on May 24, 2021.
Game and Fish allege the abuse happened on Justin Martin’s M Arrow Ranch.
The videos and associated screenshots uncovered on Justin Martin’s phone, and testified to by Game and Fish Officer Heather Sterling at a preliminary hearing on Feb. 20 in Evanston Circuit Court, showed Platt at the M Arrow Ranch lassoing, spurring and riding a cow moose judged by Sterling to be in poor condition.
“He’s smiling, and he is aggressively spurring the moose as if it’s a horse being broken to ride,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to have an issue in participating in this activity at all.”
Sterling said audio taken from the video had Justin Martin’s voice encouraging Platt as he rode the moose.
She said that in addition to Platt having a rope around the moose’s neck, a rope also was around one of its hind legs.
“In the video, you can hear Justin Martin encouraging this behavior and he says, ‘All right now, spur that son of a bitch, give him the dicks spur on him',” Sterling quoted for the court. “'Spur him some more, go to the fronts, that’s a kid'.”
Sterling testified Justin Martin was laughing as he encouraged Platt.
The investigation also found Justin Martin sent the video to more than 20 phone numbers, she said.
Struggling Moose
Other videos linked to the May 4 incident show Platt before riding the moose standing in the bed of a Honda off-road vehicle with a lariat around the moose’s neck and holding it as the animal struggled.
A video from May 24 showed Range Martin with a cow moose standing in chest-high sagebrush with a lariat around its neck and pulling it while on a horse.
Sterling said the moose is shown falling and struggling to get back on its feet.
She said Justin Martin could be heard saying, “I don’t think Ol' Roany likes that son-of-a-gun too much.”
Justin Martin’s four-day jury trial remains set for Aug. 11, according to court records.
The accessory before the fact to felony cruelty to animals charges Justin Martin faces carry a maximum of two years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine. The accessory before or after the fact charges to wanton taking of a big-game animal, a cow moose, carry a potential sentence of one year in jail and up to a $10,000 fine.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
