A Wyoming man and former Gillette baseball coach is facing a felony charge after he allegedly lied about his residency to obtain Montana hunting tags, then subsequently killed a black bear, mountain lion, and white-tailed deer buck.
Conner Anthony Brown is charged with a felony count of unlawful possession, shipping, or transportation of a game animal by common scheme, according to court records.
If convicted, he could lose his hunting and fishing privileges in all 50 states for life.
Falsely claiming residency in a state to buy resident hunting tags is a common offense, retired Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden Duane Kerr of Green River told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
“It’s a pretty big deal. That was one of the things we used to spend a lot of time on,” Kerr said. “They are hard cases to prove sometimes, but there are a lot of them.
“You have to make sure that you can figure out where people are actually residing (when they buy tags).”
Brown's felony charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. He also faces a three-year to lifetime revocation of hunting and fishing privileges.
The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000 and an 18-month revocation of hunting and fishing privileges.
He also faces a misdemeanor charge of nonresident license or permit offenses, also by common scheme.
In Wyoming, “common scheme” is defined as connected and repeated acts.
Under the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, a person whose hunting and fishing privileges are revoked under a conviction in one state also loses them in the other 49 states.
Brown was arraigned Tuesday in Lewis and Clark County Montana District Court. He appeared via Zoom before standing master Hannah Roe, who entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, the Helena Independent Record reported.
The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10, 2027.
If convicted, Brown could also be liable for a total of $9,500 in restitution to the State of Montana for any animals he killed illegally.
Former Baseball Coach
Brown lived in Miles City, Montana, before moving to Wyoming in 2022, court documents state.
At one point, he was assistant head coach of the Gillette Riders Post 42 American Legion baseball team, according to court documents.
Riders head coach Nate Perleberg and Legion Post 42 baseball program president Steve Laakso told Cowboy State Daily that Brown hasn’t been associated with the team since 2024.
“He only worked for us for a few months in spring/summer 2024. He has not been with us before or after that,” Perleberg wrote in a text message.
Montana Hunting Licenses
Listing Miles City addresses, Brown bought Montana resident hunting licenses for the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, according to court documents.
He allegedly killed a black bear in Lincoln County, Montana, in May 2024. He also killed a white-tailed buck in Powder River County, Montana, in November 2024, and a mountain lion in Lincoln County in January 2025, according to court documents.
On Jan. 6, Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks investigators interviewed Brown, court documents state. He claimed to have been living in both Montana and Wyoming from 2022 to 2024.
He further claimed he paid Montana taxes while keeping a physical address there and renting a house, according to court documents.
Brown also told FWP investigators he got married in Wyoming in 2022 but didn’t permanently move there, court documents state.
Posts Tell Different Stories
Numerous social media posts contradicted Brown’s claims, according to court documents.
Montana FWP investigator Steven Marx reviewed Brown’s Facebook and Instagram posts, which indicated he’d been living in Gillette as far back as February 2022.
For example, Brown posted on Feb. 2, 2022: “It’s always good living in God's country. Living in Gillette, Wyoming, now, though, with my fiancé,” court documents state.
And on Feb. 4, 2022: “I travel a lot for work. Alaska, Montana, Nebraska, and Wyoming. I’m based out of Gillette now.”
Another post from Dec. 14, 2022: “Yes, sir, I live here with my wife. I still have a place in Miles City, Montana, but we live here in Gillette, and I rent that place out. The basement part of my duplex anyways,” according to Marx’s statements in court documents.
Common Schemes
Using a P.O. box or a “friend’s address” are common schemes, Kerr said.
People try to falsify their residency to gain access to less expensive over-the-counter resident hunting tags. And, for limited quota tags, the draw odds are usually better for residents than for non-residents, he said.
“They’re basically defrauding the state out of those non-resident license fees,” Kerr said.
He added that he’s a fan of the Interstate Game Violators Compact because it gives teeth to the penalties for those convicted of falsifying residency.
“You can shut a guy down from hunting anywhere in the United States, and that’s important,” Kerr said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
