MuskegMan
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I "poached" this from over on 24HCF
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Justice Tracker
Colton Lapp
Age: 19
Charges: Five counts of felony poaching, several misdemeanors
Date of incident: Late December
Status: Free on bond
What's next: He is awaiting his next court appearance
A 19-year-old Worland man is the first in the state to be charged under a new felony poaching law.
Colton Lapp allegedly killed four buck deer and shot at another near Thermopolis after being convicted twice of poaching, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Hot Springs County prosecutors charged him with five counts of felony poaching under a state law that went into effect in July. The law allows Game and Fish and prosecutors to charge people with a felony if they have been convicted of poaching three times within a 10-year period.
A first-time offender can only be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail, no more than $10,000 in fines, loss of hunting and fishing privileges for five years and forfeiture of anything used during the crime.
For each felony count, Lapp faces up to two years in prison, no less than $5,000 or more than $10,000 in fines, as well as the other penalties. He could also lose his right to vote, carry firearms and run for public office. He is also facing several misdemeanor charges.
If convicted on all charges, Lapp could face more than 12 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
?We?ve had these sorts of chronic poachers over the years and there weren't ways to deal with them,? said Scott Werbelow, the game warden supervisor in the Cody region who has dealt with parts of the Lapp case.
Wyoming?s chief game warden, Brian Nesvik, said this case is exactly why the Wyoming Game Warden?s Association asked for this law.
?This individual has repeatedly committed some of the most egregious wildlife violations,? Nesvik said.
In November 2010, Lapp shot and killed a large buck south of Worland, Werbelow said. Many local people knew Lapp had photographed the trophy buck.
After killing the buck, Lapp entered the head and rack into a big buck contest, Werbelow said. When officials served a search warrant in the first poaching, they found a second deer carcass.
An investigation turned up two other people, and Lapp was charged as an accessory to that crime. He was found guilty on his first poaching charge in April and as an accessory on the other in December.
On Dec. 29, Hot Springs County game warden Matt Lentsch began investigating a poaching near Thermopolis. The next day, Worland police officers told him they saw Lapp?s truck with a gun in the window and fresh animal blood and deer hair in the back, according to an arrest document attached to Lapp?s charges.
Officials searched Lapp?s truck and found more guns, a violation of his probation agreement, the document stated. After officials collected more evidence, Lapp told them that he shot four deer and shot at but missed another. Lapp cut heads off three of the deer and dumped the bodies, leaving the fourth.
He told officials that he ?kills deer as a release of built up anger and frustration,? according to the charging document.
Lapp is free on a $10,000 bond in Hot Springs County while awaiting his next court appearance. He is also free on a $10,000 bond from Big Horn County and a $5,000 bond in Park County for charges associated with violating conditions of his probation for the previous crimes.
Nick Carter, a Gillette attorney representing Lapp, declined to comment before the preliminary hearing.
Lapp?s sentencing would be up to a judge, but Nesvik thinks the possibility of prison and becoming a felon could deter future poachers.
Reach Open Spaces reporter Christine Peterson at (307) 266-0524
Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/...l#ixzz1qWUVrqJ1
______________________________________
Justice Tracker
Colton Lapp
Age: 19
Charges: Five counts of felony poaching, several misdemeanors
Date of incident: Late December
Status: Free on bond
What's next: He is awaiting his next court appearance
A 19-year-old Worland man is the first in the state to be charged under a new felony poaching law.
Colton Lapp allegedly killed four buck deer and shot at another near Thermopolis after being convicted twice of poaching, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
Hot Springs County prosecutors charged him with five counts of felony poaching under a state law that went into effect in July. The law allows Game and Fish and prosecutors to charge people with a felony if they have been convicted of poaching three times within a 10-year period.
A first-time offender can only be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail, no more than $10,000 in fines, loss of hunting and fishing privileges for five years and forfeiture of anything used during the crime.
For each felony count, Lapp faces up to two years in prison, no less than $5,000 or more than $10,000 in fines, as well as the other penalties. He could also lose his right to vote, carry firearms and run for public office. He is also facing several misdemeanor charges.
If convicted on all charges, Lapp could face more than 12 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.
?We?ve had these sorts of chronic poachers over the years and there weren't ways to deal with them,? said Scott Werbelow, the game warden supervisor in the Cody region who has dealt with parts of the Lapp case.
Wyoming?s chief game warden, Brian Nesvik, said this case is exactly why the Wyoming Game Warden?s Association asked for this law.
?This individual has repeatedly committed some of the most egregious wildlife violations,? Nesvik said.
In November 2010, Lapp shot and killed a large buck south of Worland, Werbelow said. Many local people knew Lapp had photographed the trophy buck.
After killing the buck, Lapp entered the head and rack into a big buck contest, Werbelow said. When officials served a search warrant in the first poaching, they found a second deer carcass.
An investigation turned up two other people, and Lapp was charged as an accessory to that crime. He was found guilty on his first poaching charge in April and as an accessory on the other in December.
On Dec. 29, Hot Springs County game warden Matt Lentsch began investigating a poaching near Thermopolis. The next day, Worland police officers told him they saw Lapp?s truck with a gun in the window and fresh animal blood and deer hair in the back, according to an arrest document attached to Lapp?s charges.
Officials searched Lapp?s truck and found more guns, a violation of his probation agreement, the document stated. After officials collected more evidence, Lapp told them that he shot four deer and shot at but missed another. Lapp cut heads off three of the deer and dumped the bodies, leaving the fourth.
He told officials that he ?kills deer as a release of built up anger and frustration,? according to the charging document.
Lapp is free on a $10,000 bond in Hot Springs County while awaiting his next court appearance. He is also free on a $10,000 bond from Big Horn County and a $5,000 bond in Park County for charges associated with violating conditions of his probation for the previous crimes.
Nick Carter, a Gillette attorney representing Lapp, declined to comment before the preliminary hearing.
Lapp?s sentencing would be up to a judge, but Nesvik thinks the possibility of prison and becoming a felon could deter future poachers.
Reach Open Spaces reporter Christine Peterson at (307) 266-0524
Read more: http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/...l#ixzz1qWUVrqJ1
