A 44-year-old woman accused of attaching signs to a utility pole on her rural property — including one stating “Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is Lazy" — has been charged with a rarely-prosecuted crime.
Bethany Hodges faces a single misdemeanor charge of affixing posters to telephone/utility poles (malicious trespass) for allegedly illegally putting up a number of signs critical of the local sheriff’s office.
CCSO Deputy Jeremy Hatcher wrote in an affidavit of probable cause to support the charge made available Monday that he responded to Hodges’ property about 23 miles northwest of Gillette in a remote part of the county on Aug. 22.
A report had come in from another woman who said she saw Hodges putting signs on a telephone/utility pole near the home on South Peak Road, the affidavit says.
When Hatcher got to the location, he saw several signs affixed to the pole, reading:
• “Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is Lazy”
• “No more neglected or dead animals outside my window”
• “Bring more attention”
• “Stop impeding on my right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness”
Multiple calls law enforcement made to Hodges weren’t answered or returned, and a call to her husband Lancelot ended when he told the deputy he knew what the call was about and hung up, according to the affidavit.
“I informed Lancelot the reasoning I was contacting him, (and he) appeared to already know the reasoning as he stated quickly that I needed to speak with his wife, and not him,” Hatcher wrote in the affidavit.
“When I attempted to verify Bethany’s phone number with Lancelot, he hung up the phone and would no longer answer any of my phone calls,” the document adds.
Multiple other attempts on other days to reach the woman also weren’t successful, nor was a physical visit to the home.
When he arrived at the property, Hatcher wrote that he couldn’t enter the driveway because of “a vehicle that appeared to be intentionally blocking the driveway, as it was parked sideways with no room for a vehicle to get by.”
The deputy observed the sings on the power poles and took photographs, and he also saw messages written on the vehicle’s window with chalk referencing “Flock cameras” and proclaiming, “bring more attention.”
It’s Harassment
Bethany Hodges didn’t respond to a Cowboy State Daily message for comment about being charged for putting signs up on a utility pole.
However, her husband expressed frustration with the situation, saying that they are “about to take it to our lawyer” and that the utility poles in question are “on our property.”
“Now, we’re getting harassed because we have signs on our own property. They’re harassing my wife at this point,” he said, adding that he didn’t want to elaborate more until they’ve talked to their attorney.
For its part, the Campbell County Sheriff's Office said the charge isn't malicious or because of the nature of the signs.
"I assure you it's not," said Lt. Dan Maul, operations supervisor for the agency.
In this case, someone complained about the signs, so the CCSO responded to check it out, he said.
"There is a complainant. It wasn't something we drummed up of our own accord," Maul said, adding that there also isn't any connection to the message on the signs.
"We're quite used to things being said about us," he said, adding it is unusual to see a charge for posting signs on a utility pole.
"While I have never personally charged that statute in my career, that is a statute and it actually is a crime," Maul said.
That someone could actually see a courtroom for putting signs on a utility pole is definitely unusual, said Frank Groth, a retired career law enforcement officer living in Gillette.
“I haven’t seen that one ever,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “I wouldn’t say it’s an only-in-Wyoming moment, but this would be that if there ever was one.”
He admitted that it could seem a little suspicious to some that the signs in this case are critical of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, but he’s not in that camp.
“I wouldn’t expect there’s any kind of ulterior motive or retaliation involved here at all,” he said. “It sounds like it’s some folks who appear to have a beef and are expressing themselves.”
Doubts It’s Retaliation
Groth said for the case to get to the point of being prosecuted, “I would think somebody would have to mess up pretty substantially, or it may be a recurring problem with a particular individual who’s basically saying, ‘Screw you, I’ll do whatever I want.’
“Especially calling out the sheriff’s office like that, it could be kind of a longstanding grievance.”
Even then, law enforcement officers are used to being the targets of criticism, and often much more demeaning than just saying they’re lazy, Groth said.
“It’s part and parcel of the work,” he said. “When you’re in public safety, you’re not going to make people happy with you 100% of the time. Sometimes, people will exercise their First Amendment right.”
If convicted, affixing posters to telephone/utility poles could get someone up to six months in jail and a fine of not more than $100.
In the meantime, Bethany Hodges has been summoned to an Oct. 20 hearing in Campbell County Circuit Court.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
