In what sounds like an intoxicated joy ride, a pair of Wyoming teens have been charged with a slew of wildlife violations and were jailed for driving while under the influence.
In the true nature of intoxicated idiocy, the teens were traced back to the scene of a dead deer through evidence found near the animal, which included an ATM receipt. After being alerted to a possibly poached deer near a dam on a reservoir near the Dee Ranch, game warden Nick Roberts was the investigating officer.
After canvassing the scene and recovering a lactating doe that had been shot through the chest and head, he allegedly recovered spent 30-06 shells accompanied by a carelessly discarded ATM receipt. With no visible attempt to salvage any of the meat along with the way the deer was dispatched, foul play was immediately suspected.
Joining forces with local law enforcement, the ATM receipt was traced back to 19-year-old Austin Jarrell, who resides in nearby Evanston. Court documents revealed that a local ranch hand had described a truck believed to have been on the scene that matched the vehicle found at Jarrell’s residence. Game warden Chris Baird, who was investigating the young man’s residence also noted the appearance of two spent large caliber rounds on the seat of the vehicle.
While the vehicle was present at the residence, it was later determined that Jarrell was not home at the time officer Baird was investigating. Turns out, the young man, along with his accomplice, 18-year-old Gerald Lewis was allegedly intoxicated and had been arrested earlier in the evening. Calculating the time of the arrest, game wardens determined the consistency in timing how long it would have taken the pair to arrive back in Evanston from where the deer was shot.
Contradicting stories came pouring out of the accused parties as they were seemingly unable to get their story straight. After originally conceding that he had struck the deer with his truck, inconsistent with the animal’s condition, Jarrell eventually admitted to shooting the deer. Jarrell’s partner in crime, Lewis allegedly stated that he had attempted to shoot the animal with a .22 magnum but missed.
According to reports, matching charges were handed down to both teens including; wanton destruction of a big game animal, taking game animals without a license, wasting edible portions of a game animal, violating a commission order and hunting while intoxicated. Jarrell reportedly pleaded guilty to all five charges while his accomplice maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty.
Following his guilty plea, Jarrell was sentenced to several fines and jail time, some of which have been suspended. Facing upwards of $2,000 in additional fines, which were later suspended, he was ordered to pay $500 to the Wyoming Wildlife Protectors Association and will serve 20 days in jail. Additionally, his hunting and fishing privileges have been suspended for a nine-year period.