Man apologizes, pleads guilty for cruel treatment of injured wolf in Wyoming bar
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Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile
PINEDALE (WyoFile) — Cody Roberts apologized Thursday for an infamous stunt he pulled two years prior, when he brought an injured wolf into a western Wyoming bar, sparking worldwide outrage.
“I sincerely regret my actions and apologize to the community and my family,” Roberts told Sweetwater County District Court Judge Richard Lavery. The comments, his first public remarks since the incident came to light, came after he pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty in a deal with the prosecution that could keep him from serving time in prison.
The lifelong Sublette County resident told the courtroom in Pinedale that he hopes to move past the incident and looks forward to “healing.” The 44-year-old was clean-shaven, wore a black suit coat and looked stoic during the appearance, showing little emotion. Most of his remarks were formulaic, affirming questions from Lavery about the legal process with succinct answers like “yes, sir” and “no, sir.”
One of those pithy retorts was to achieve the primary purpose of the hearing.
“Guilty, your honor,” Roberts told Lavery.
New information about incident
Thursday’s proceedings offered new details about the Feb. 29, 2024, incident, which culminated with Roberts bringing the injured wolf into the Green River Bar in Daniel. The wolf limped during a reluctant walk into the establishment, but by the end of the night it evidently did not have the capacity to move on its own. Roberts carried the injured wolf “like a baby” before taking it outside and shooting it, Sublette County Prosecuting Attorney Clayton Melinkovich told the court.
Roberts’ guilty plea was expected. His attorney, Robert Piper, signed a plea agreement Feb. 17. It calls for a prison sentence of 18 months to two years, which would be suspended in favor of 18 months of supervised probation and a $1,000 fine. Agreed-upon conditions of his probation include: no hunting or fishing; no alcohol, no presence at bars or liquor stores; and a requirement that Roberts follow recommended addiction treatment.
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Roberts’ actions put a harsh spotlight on Sublette County, and it divided the small community of 9,000 residents. Details of the incident fueled the public response. Roberts, who owns a trucking company, acquired the canine by striking it with a snowmobile until it was “barely conscious,” according to a Game and Fish official. Melinkovich on Thursday did not detail how the wolf was captured — striking predators with snowmobiles remains legal in Wyoming — other than specifying that he took possession of it on private land.
At the bar, the father of four made a joke of the whole ordeal, according to an eyewitness. While clutching a beer, he posed for photos with the animal, which had its muzzle taped shut. The wolf, meanwhile, stayed prone on the floor for much of the evening. That’s unusual behavior for a captive wild wolf that suggests it was suffering from severe internal injuries, according to biologists who’ve reviewed the footage.
Asked on Thursday if Melinkovich provided the correct account of Feb. 29, 2024, Roberts said “pretty close.” Pressed by Lavery, he did not dispute any specific details.
Public outrage
When photos and videos of Robert’s stunt became public in April 2024, an intense, widespread uproar resulted, with state-run social media pages even going dark because of the global criticism. Outrage was exacerbated by what the public perceived to be a light punishment: Wyoming Game and Fish Department wardens fined Roberts $250 for possession of warm-blooded wildlife, even though steeper penalties were available.
The state wildlife agency maintained that the wolf — because it was classified as a “predator” where Roberts acquired it — was not covered by Wyoming’s animal cruelty laws. But Sublette County law enforcement had a different legal interpretation. The local sheriff launched an investigation, and in August the local prosecutor convened a grand jury that indicted Roberts for felony animal cruelty.
If a jury had convicted him, the Daniel man faced a maximum of two years in prison. Initially, Roberts pleaded not guilty, and his attorney Robert Piper sought to have the case dismissed, making the same contention as the Wyoming Game and Fish Department: that wolves were exempted from animal cruelty statutes. Lavery, however, wasn’t persuaded and moved the case toward an early March trial.
The judge will hang up his robe in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, Gov. Mark Gordon announced he’d appointed the Sweetwater County District Court judge’s replacement due to an upcoming April retirement. Clark Stith, a Rock Springs attorney and former member of the Wyoming House of Representatives, will be taking Lavery’s place.
Lavery on Thursday walked through some of the next steps in Roberts’ protracted legal case. The judge told the parties he “appreciates the work” on the plea agreement, but would not rule on it pending a standard pre-sentencing investigation.
Legal repercussions are already unfolding for Roberts, who remains out on bond with a number of conditions. The avid sportsman can no longer possess firearms and has proactively removed firearms from his possession, according to Piper.
There will be related longer-term implications of the felony conviction, Lavery told Roberts before he pleaded.
“It will restrict your rights to have a gun,” said Lavery, who noted the consequences for both “hunting and outfitting.”
The bond conditions also prohibit Roberts from consuming alcohol or controlled substances and from going to bars or “private parties.”
5,000 emails
Roberts’ guilty plea and the agreement that triggered it caused a flood of outreach to Lavery’s office. He told the court he was “struck” by the response, which included “countless phone calls” and “at least 5,000 emails.”
“There are a lot of people out there who want to know why there was a plea agreement in this case,” Lavery told the court.
The judge was clear that the outreach “falls on deaf ears.”
“I won’t be reading those emails and I won’t be talking to those [folks] on the phone,” Lavery said. “It would be improper for me to do that.”
There have been mixed views in Sublette County and beyond about Roberts’ plea deal. Many locals thought he would have beat the charge at trial, which would have started Monday. Wildlife advocates who ventured to Pinedale and paid attention to the Thursday proceedings from afar continued the trend of a split reception.
“If running over a wolf with a snowmobile and displaying it wounded in a bar doesn’t lead to jail time, that leaves us asking: ‘What does?’” said Dagny Signorelli, the Wyoming representative for Western Watersheds Project.
But Jackson Hole resident Lisa Robertson, an animal rights activist, said last week she found the agreement satisfactory — and on Thursday she argued there was a broader meaning to Roberts’ declaration of guilt.
“It’s not just Cody Roberts on trial here,” Robertson said. “It’s Wyoming, too.”
Wyoming Wildlife Advocates Executive Director Kristin Combs was on a similar page.
“Wyoming is finally coming into the 21st Century,” Combs said. “I know a lot of people don’t feel like this is enough, but in the grand scheme of things, we are making huge progress.”
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