The newly announced indictment of a Wyoming man accused of publicly tormenting an injured gray wolf has resurrected a case that complicated the tenure of the state’s then-chief wildlife officer, Brian Nesvik.
Now director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Nesvik was overseeing the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in 2024 when the agency imposed a $250 fine on a man who hit a juvenile wolf with a snowmobile, taped its mouth shut and then showed it off at a bar before shooting it. The ensuing outcry over both deed and penalty drew international attention and drove legislative action.
On Wednesday, 18 months after the February 2024 incident, the chief prosecutor in Sublette County, Wyoming, announced that a grand jury indicted a Daniel, Wyoming, resident named Cody Roberts on a felony charge of cruelty to animals. If convicted on the state charge, Roberts could face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Sublette County Attorney Clayton Melinkovich revealed in a statement Wednesday that he requested the summoning of grand jury in June.
