Thayne man sentenced on wildlife violations
A Thayne, Wyoming man has been sentenced to a fine and jail time for taking a deer without a proper license.
Lincoln County, Wyoming County Attorney Spencer Allred said Stetson Long pled guilty to four counts of illegally taking a deer. Wyoming Game and Fish wardens found four sets of fresh mule deer antlers hidden in a barn where Long had been working. The skull plates and horns were removed from the animals and the remainder of the animals were hidden and left to waste.
The ranch manager found the antlers on a ranch near Cokeville, Wyoming. Long worked there between November 5 and November 13, 2018.
In a court appearance last Friday, Long was ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and to serve six months in the Lincoln County Detention Center. Long was also placed on 18 months unsupervised probation. Any further violation of probation could add another 18 months of jail and $20,000 in fines to his sentence.
Long’s hunting privileges were also suspended for a period of 20 years and his fishing privileges were suspended for 10 years.
“This is one of the more egregious poaching cases we have seen in the state,” said Allred. “Not only were these deer taken for their antlers, but the rest of the meat from the deer was completely wasted. We are pleased that a serious jail sentence, fines, and suspension of his hunting and fishing privileges were given.”
The County Attorney said Long’s hunting privileges had already been suspended from an incident in 2016, when Long was convicted of illegally killing two deer. At that time, he received $800 in fines, probation, and suspended hunting privileges for 2016, 2017, and 2018.
