A Wyoming man accused of hitting a wolf with a snowmobile before taping its mouth shut, showing off the wounded animal in a rural bar, then killing it expressed remorse Thursday and changed his plea to felony animal cruelty to guilty.
“I sincerely regret my actions and apologize to the community and my family,” Cody Roberts told District Judge Richard Lavery in Pinedale.
Lavery said he would review Roberts’ plea agreement with prosecutors before deciding whether to accept the deal.
Roberts, 44, initially pleaded not guilty. The trial was set to begin next Monday. Under the plea deal with prosecutors filed in court last week, Roberts would avoid trial and a penalty of as much as two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Instead, Roberts would pay a $1,000 fine and serve 18 months of probation. He would be prohibited from drinking alcohol, going into a bar or liquor store, and hunting or fishing while on probation.
The incident happened in February 2024 in Daniel, a town of about 150 people some 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Jackson. Condemnation and scrutiny of Wyoming laws followed wide circulation of photos showing the wolf with its mouth bound with tape.
Video showed the same animal lying on a floor, alive but barely moving.
Wyoming law gives wide leeway for people to kill wolves and other predators by a variety of means in the vast majority of the state. Roberts initially paid a $250 fine for illegal possession of wildlife but was indicted on the animal cruelty charge by a rare Wyoming grand jury last year.
Lavery said in the hearing his office had received “countless” phone calls and over 5,000 emails about the case but he had not taken or read them because of his duty to remain impartial.