quote:

Based upon a plea agreement, Lapp was sentenced to pay $5040 in fines and $4000 in restitution to the state for the deer. Lapp also had his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges suspended for five years and is under six months probation.

I'm sick over big muleys, but no deer is worth all that B.S.

NO ONE is turning their head. What is turning your head about 9k in fines and license suspension???? You are coming across pretty dense here and from reading your other posts you seem pretty intelligent. When you are YOUNGER, NOT NECESSARILY A KID BUT YOUNGER, one tends to make poor decisions. We have all done things under the age of 25 we would never dream of doing now. He screwed up, IS PAYING THE PRICE, and will hopefully learn a valuable lesson. If he returns to the hunting society "reformed" he is a much better asset than if he is banned for life. If he is like the rest of us who did stupid things at a younger age he will be wiser on the flip side.

Perry as we get older we are supposed to be able to interpret what we are reading a little more intelligently.

This was not a random act by a kid. He planned the whole thing lout and then compounded the act by posting it on the internet.

Since you seem to have no trouble with kids? poaching, how about I load up a bunch of teenagers. find the place you hunt and turn them loose and tell to shoot whatever they see.

You, STU and 505 Gibbs are openly supporting poaching. An 18 year old may not be legally able to purchase alcohol in most places, but that is not normally concidered a qualifying aspect of determining who is and is not an adult, except by the simple minded.

Voting and serving in the armed forces are qualifying aspects and both apply in this case.

Perry, I bet your ass would get in a cramp if you went out to the place you hunt and found an 18 year old had shot a buck you had been watching for a year or two, EVEN IF HE HAD PERMISSION TO DO SO.

This maybe the first rodeo for some of you folks, but it ain't for others.

This ADULT knowingly broke the law, he is going to pay for it now.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
NO ONE is turning their head. What is turning your head about 9k in fines and license suspension???? You are coming across pretty dense here and from reading your other posts you seem pretty intelligent. When you are YOUNGER, NOT NECESSARILY A KID BUT YOUNGER, one tends to make poor decisions. We have all done things under the age of 25 we would never dream of doing now. He screwed up, IS PAYING THE PRICE, and will hopefully learn a valuable lesson. If he returns to the hunting society "reformed" he is a much better asset than if he is banned for life. If he is like the rest of us who did stupid things at a younger age he will be wiser on the flip side.

Perry as we get older we are supposed to be able to interpret what we are reading a little more intelligently.

This was not a random act by a kid. He planned the whole thing lout and then compounded the act by posting it on the internet.

Since you seem to have no trouble with kids? poaching, how about I load up a bunch of teenagers. find the place you hunt and turn them loose and tell to shoot whatever they see.

You, STU and 505 Gibbs are openly supporting poaching. An 18 year old may not be legally able to purchase alcohol in most places, but that is not normally concidered a qualifying aspect of determining who is and is not an adult, except by the simple minded.

Voting and serving in the armed forces are qualifying aspects and both apply in this case.

Perry, I bet your ass would get in a cramp if you went out to the place you hunt and found an 18 year old had shot a buck you had been watching for a year or two, EVEN IF HE HAD PERMISSION TO DO SO.

This maybe the first rodeo for some of you folks, but it ain't for others.

This ADULT knowingly broke the law, he is going to pay for it now.

I agree he is not a kid but I stand by the fact that a 21 year old has a lot more sense than a 18 year old. Along with not being able to drink, I don't think he can carry a concealed handgun or purchase a handgun. I think the crime and PUNISHMENT fit.

So how is that supporting poaching?

I want him PUNISHED and hopefully reformed BUT NOT banned from hunting for life.

But seriously, how am I supporting poaching???? Law was enforced and that is a good thing.


Perry

Perry, this is from my first response on the subject:

quote:

Losing his hunting priveldges for life might seem harsh, but what if the guy had been 28 or 38?

I am not real hot on the guy losing his hunting priveldges for life.

But I am also not for giving him a slap on the wrist and trying to reform him.

Don't know how old you are Perry or how you were raised or where you were raised, but from what I have observed over the past 20 years or so, todays 18 or 19 year olds are on the same maturity level as most 24 to 26 year olds.

The ability or legality of his being able to own a handgun, has nothing to do with his classifacation as an adult, nor does the ability to buy alcohol.

By punishing this man, a message will be sent to others contemplating similar actions. Odds are fairly even that the punishment will have a better effect on getting the guy back on the right side of things than pushing him farther into the criminal life.

Letting him off with a light punishment and trying to rehabilitate him will only show him that he can get away with such actions without fear of having to really answer for or pay for his actions.

As I stated, or believe I did, this would be a non-issue if the man had poached a doe or a little fork horn buck, he didn't, he purposely went after this particular animal, he knew just exactly what he was doing, then he bragged about it.

Just to show you, this deer poaching isn't an isolated, occasional incident. A game warden told me once that they figure they only catch 10% of the violators. My argument is there is no deterrent. Vorhees proved that. $9k in fines is no deterrrent! You need to strip them of their privelege to hunt for at least 5 years,, take vehicles, guns, and if nothing else get the fines from garnishing their wages so they can see the penalty every pay day!

MULTIPLE ANTELOPE POACHED NEAR SHOSHONI
LANDER—The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is asking for the public’s help in solving a case in which multiple antelope were poached.
South Riverton Game Warden Chris Daubin said a minimum of six buck antelope were found along Muskrat Road, south of Shoshoni, Wyoming in Freemont County.
“This is a very serious wildlife crime,” Daubin said. “The buck antelope were shot and left to waste. The antelope look to have been killed during the early part of the week of April 18-20. Anyone who knows anything about this wildlife violation is urged to give us a call, soon. You may remain anonymous. You may also be eligible for a cash reward if your information leads to the apprehension or conviction of the violator(s).”
“The antelope are pretty tame right now,” Daubin added. “Whoever killed these buck antelope really wasted the resource. Every honest sportsman in Wyoming should be shocked and angered by this crime.”
Anyone with information on this or any wildlife violation may call the STOP Poaching Hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847).


http://gf.state.wy.us/services...nRiver/Law/index.asp

The word many of you seem to be avoiding is CONSEQUENCES. This is exactly what is wrong with this country. Are you unable to differentiate between right and wrong any more?

Everyone has rights, nobody has any responsibilities.

The deal is simply this: an 18 year old shot a huge trophy buck, knowing it was illegal. K-N-O-W-I-N-G that he was breaking the law. This is not a tough call to make. He stole something.

I would have given him five years in the state pen, and let him serve a year in the county jail. Then probation, and the hope of a withheld judgement at the end of that time.

I do NOT care if he ever gets to hunt, fish, or even possess firearms again for the rest of his life. We can afford to lose this Rhodes Scholar...

Rich

But Rich,

Some of the brainiacs on this forum, who by their own admission know so much better than the rest of us, have gone on record as saying poaching is no big deal. Surely you don't disagree with them? After all, they are all knowing and so very much better informed that someone such as yourself.

Give them 5 minutes. They'll be along to tell you just how wrong you are.

quote:

The word many of you seem to be avoiding is CONSEQUENCES. This is exactly what is wrong with this country. Are you unable to differentiate between right and wrong any more?

There ya go! And no severe punishment if you can't differentiate!

Now, what would you say about the Oregon case? Too much time spent? How much time is too much? Did they spend too much money getting these folks? Note again, as in the WY case, we don't know how much was spent. Just a lot of conjecture and assumption on here that too much was spent; not that it matters how much was spent. Like it or not, in a civilized society you have to publically finance justice.

Good last few posts guys! This 9 year time frame was the "span" and there is no way they were working on this one guy for nine years. This crap has to be stopped and if they lose everything they own due to egregious violations when they're caught, then that's too damn bad. Violate the law and expect to get punished to the fullest so you and OTHERS don't commit the same again! I was in LE for 30+ years and I can guarantee these guys didn't spend nine years on that one case of the multiple offender. When you get slack time or things are slow you take that time to look for more leads and that is exactly what happened on that guy. A lot less money was spent getting him than you are expounding on, but how much is too much when it comes to violators like that? You have to remember that this type of capture, so to speak, not only got that guy, but probably also made a lot of others stop and think about how the law kept on and didn't sweep the violations under the carpet because it might take "too long" to catch him.

Welcome to the AR topgun.

That is the whole concept too many folks overlook or do not understand.

Yes, money could be spent gaining acces to more acres for hunting, or improving the habitat so that game numbers might increase, but if the actions of poachers are not minimized as much as possible, responsible, legal hunters will not realize a bit of the effort, because the poachers will just kill more animals if they are available.

quote:

Originally posted by 505 gibbs:

quote:

Based upon a plea agreement, Lapp was sentenced to pay $5040 in fines and $4000 in restitution to the state for the deer. Lapp also had his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges suspended for five years and is under six months probation.

I'm sick over big muleys, but no deer is worth all that B.S.

Why not ask all the people who pay that and a lot more to hunt one with an outfitter....

As I recall, Vorhies lost his truck, bow and paid a $50,000.00 fine for those two sheep he poached. Seems he sure learned his lesson, since he poached several of these deer while this other case was in court!

The kid broke the law. Yes he was young, yes he used poor judgement. Should he be punished for life? Hell no! Not even rapists and drug dealers get that kind of a sentence. Now having said that how would you all feel if he used the gun to rob the local 7/11? The point is there are mandatory sentencing rules in place for some crimes and guidlines for others. There is plea bargaining and the judges discretion in many situations. There needs to be consequences for ones actions. However a one size fits all legal approach is not the answer. There needs to be some wiggle room for discretionary decisions based on an overall picture and not just a narrow view. Truth is I tend to be a hardliner but I see the need for this to allow the system to work. The problem is that up until recently poaching has not been taken as a serious crime and is largely dismissed with a slap on the hand. The frustration that has been created by that has created a somewhat mob mentality and many are ready to light the torches and grab the pitchforks. Rational folks normally, they are fueled by emotion. The approach has to be balanced and lay somewhere in the middle as with most things.

quote:

The kid broke the law. Yes he was young, yes he used poor judgement. Should he be punished for life? Hell no! Not even rapists and drug dealers get that kind of a sentence. Now having said that how would you all feel if he used the gun to rob the local 7/11? The point is there are mandatory sentencing rules in place for some crimes and guidlines for others. There is plea bargaining and the judges discretion in many situations. There needs to be consequences for ones actions. However a one size fits all legal approach is not the answer. There needs to be some wiggle room for discretionary decisions based on an overall picture and not just a narrow view. Truth is I tend to be a hardliner but I see the need for this to allow the system to work. The problem is that up until recently poaching has not been taken as a serious crime and is largely dismissed with a slap on the hand. The frustration that has been created by that has created a somewhat mob mentality and many are ready to light the torches and grab the pitchforks. Rational folks normally, they are fueled by emotion. The approach has to be balanced and lay somewhere in the middle as with most things.

Well said mr. Smith. Sounds like you opt for what has been known as "judgement". Prepare to be hated by the local zealots.

In the past, I have dis-agreed with Flags & Rich on several occasions. Never anything serious, just differences of opinion. One thing's for sure, I appreciate their passion when it comes to the protection of the wildlife resource we all share. Better that, than not caring at all!

IMO, and nothing more. I certainly want to see cases like this one involving the 18 yr old, enforced with stiff consequences. But, I do believe that a 5yr hunting ban, and $9k fine, is a pretty stiff consequence for an 18 yr old. No doubt he made a conscious decision to carry out this act, but I know I too at 18 - 23 yrs old made some decisions that I too still regret. Its a part of growing up, maturing, and learing right from wrong. Learning that you can't always act on your impulses, and if you do, consequences will surely follow. Honestly, I would hate to see a young man made into a life-long felon over this, if in fact it was an isolated incident. The Vorhies guy, a different story, fry him! But, hopefully the young man has learned his lesson, as we all have to from time to time. Obviously the LE officials felt the penalty was appropriate, hopefully they were right. And hopefully he never repeats his poaching ways, time will tell.

Currently we lease about 290,000 acres in eastern Colorado for trophy whitetail/mule deer hunting, and I fight this problem EVERY year. Trespassing is our biggest issue. Sometimes I spend more time running trespassing patrol, than guiding, but its not often we have an actual poaching problem. Fact is, we catch one or two guys each year poaching, and over the years we have found several carcasses, or bloody drag marks back to the road, or vehicle tracks where none should be. We do our best to stay on it, but you cannot be everywhere at once. The local game warden is a great guy, and comes anytime we call. He has caught a few guys in the past few years on our places, two of them were serial poachers, and they got nailed. Trust me, when its something you pay $100,000 a year for, you want it protected, and I get seriously pissed off at these guys who have such a lack of concern for the law, property rights, and the game. Honestly though, I want em prosecuted when necessary. But even I would be against banning them for life, or making them a convicted felon, for killing a deer/antelope on our lease. With one exception, if they were in fact a serial poacher like this Vorhies guy. I think often times, the heat of the moment takes over, they make a bad decision, and once they realize it or get caught, they immediately regret it. Fact is, 95% of the guys cruising through our leases are good guys, and they come because they know we have alot of game, and often times they just want to observe. Heck, we had a young man (mid-20's) just like that, this past fall. He was so excited, and so helpful, but also respectful of our private leases. That by week's end, he was hanging out with us in our lodge and I took him out and let him shoot a deer off our place just simply because he did everything right. Prior to the season opening, we had never met or seen him in our lives.

I will agree with one thing that Smaterthanyou says. Our wildlife departments are NO different than any other governmental entity, when it comes to wasting huge amounts of money! The Colorado DOW is run by a bunch of career govt folks, who have zero fiscal responsibility, and zero accountability. In 2009 & 2010 the CDOW ran at a $7million plus loss each year!! Now, I too know that DOW money comes from licenses, excise taxes on hunting, gear, etc, etc. BUT, my big question that I have asked, and have been refused an answer to is, where is the deficit money coming from? One example of this lack of fiscal responsibility, is the Big Game Access Program (BGAP). The DOW leases private land, and opens it for public hunting. I'm not necessarily opposed to that, but I am opposed to it when it ran from 2007 - 2009 at an average financial LOSS of over 80%!!! Same in 2010, but yet is ignored, even though the overall CDOW had a deficit of over $7million! If you want to spend my sportsman dollars, please do it responsibly. But that concept is LOST on any government agency, including the Colorado Div. of Wildlife!

quote:

Originally posted by kudu56:
News Release
4/22/2011
Cody Regional Office
WORLAND MAN SENTENCED IN TROPHY DEER CASE CODY- Eighteen-year-old Colton Lapp of Worland, WY, was charged and convicted of illegally killing a trophy mule deer buck south of Worland—his violation cost him over $9,000. Lapp pleaded guilty to the intentional and illegal taking of a trophy class mule deer before Judge Thomas Harrington, Washakie County Circuit Court on April 14, 2011. Based upon a plea agreement, Lapp was sentenced to pay $5040 in fines and $4000 in restitution to the state for the deer. Lapp also had his hunting, fishing and trapping privileges suspended for five years and is under six months probation. According to Worland game warden Matt Lentsch of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Lapp shot the large non-typical mule deer buck south of Worland on Nov. 6, 2010 in an area that was closed to hunting. Information provided by a concerned sportsman initiated the investigation “A sportsman viewing a cell phone picture of Lapp posing with the large mule deer recognized the buck as one he had seen near the Wyoming Boys School several times earlier that summer,” Lentsch said. The sportsman reported that Lapp claimed to have shot the deer near Burlington, WY during an open season. However, because he felt it was extremely unlikely the deer would have traveled nearly 70 miles, he contacted Game and Fish law enforcement officers. The subsequent investigation involving many Cody Region game wardens revealed the large mule deer buck was taken in deer hunt area 164 approximately two miles south of Worland; the area had closed to the hunting of antlered mule deer on Oct. 10, 2010,” Lentsch said.
The deer carried an impressive 8 x 9 point rack which officially scored 210 6/8 Boone and Crocket points. “This mule deer buck was one of those once-in-a-lifetime animals that most
2
hunters only dream of harvesting,” Lentsch said. According to Lentsch, Judge Harrington told Lapp that he stole this animal from not only legal hunters but all of the citizens of Wyoming.
Lapp was charged under Wyoming State Statue 23-3-102(d) which is commonly referred to as the winter range law. “The Wyoming legislature passed this law to strengthen the penalties and increase the deterrence for cases just like this one,” Lentsch said. The law provides penalties for fines of not less than $5000 and up to $10,000, the loss of hunting and fishing privileges of not less than five years and jail time up to one year. According to Lentsch, the law is only applied to the most serious wildlife violations involving the intentional and illegal taking of antlered or horned big game animals.
Anyone witnessing a wildlife violation can call the Stop Poaching hotline at 1-877-WGFD-TIP (in-state). Tips are most helpful with specific information such as the date, time, location and specific details about the suspected violation. Also include a physical description of the suspected violator as well as a license plate number and description of any vehicles involved in the incident.

It looks like here, the guy got off with a light sentence compared to what he could have gotten.

He paid about the minimum fine (court costs are not part of that, nor is restitution)and it looks like they made sure it didn't rise to crime of violence/felony so he's not toast for the rest of his life, even if he maybe should not be allowed to hunt again. That fine is not all that high, I bet that guy has a truck that costs more than the whole fine. Remember all the inflation we have had since some of us were kids.

Also, for all we know, this guy could have a local history of being a "troubled teen" and this is what he was convicted of as an adult- after all juvenile records are usually sealed to the public, but the judge and the prosecutor would know. I am all for a punishment fitting a crime, but what has happened with the laws- bleeding heart judges and prosecutors who were more worried about conviction rates and such got it to the point where people were not being punished at all. Again, I don't know the particulars so I don't know if this is a good punishment to fit the crime or not, but in general we do let people who knowingly commit crimes against property off way too easily, and tend to prosecute people who don't know a bit harshly under the rubric that they should know. Fining a guy $5K for not really knowing the boundary of a unit will correct the behavior, but fining a guy the same amount who knows that he should not hunt on someone else's land, but feels he has a right to do so is not likely to accomplish anything.

I heard a good explanation of how I view such situations. This young man needs to be disciplined not just punished. Discipline looks forward where as punishment looks back. That is my take on all non-violent crime. Now get into repeat offenses that's a different deal, you had your chance. Punishment without the chance to reform is worthless if the perp is going to be turned back into society.

Perry

I've stayed out of this, but since everyone else has their 2 (or in some cases considerably less) cents in the pot, I'll throw mine in too.

I think the "sentence" was more or less appropriate to the crime, all factors considered and not knowing any of the intimate details of the perp or the event. To say the least, I don't always agree with judicial sentencing but, in this case, I think it was about right.

Some folks seem to have more problems with our various judicial systems than others do.

From what I have experienced, most states consider the wildlife that are native to the respective state, belong to the citizens of that state.

The various Game and Fish departments are charged with the management and protection of those species.

When wildlife law violators are caught, many things are taken into consideration before the final judgement is made on what the punishment will be.

From experience, violators from the more rural areas, tend to be repeat offenders and much harder to catch then neophytes from urban areas.

Also, the more youthful offenders from the rural areas tend to have more knowledge of poaching and how to get away with it, due to long term family and friend poaching activities.

Hopefully, in this case, the punishment will also act as a disciplinary tool and convince this individual that poaching is not something to be involved in.

From other personal observations over the years, poachers tend to be more like moonshiners, in that it gets in their blood and becomes a contest for them, seeing what all they can get away with without being caught.

unless he's a rich boy from a rich, non teaching, family, $9000 and no hunting for 5 years is not just a slap on the wrist. I think it's a fair punishment that will cause him some good pain. I do think he needs some community service of some kind also. Now if it was a second offense, a way harsher punishment should be due. I agree that 18 is legally an adult and there needs to be consiquences, but he is still a kid and I think if this were a 35 year old caught for the first time, he probably has been poaching for many years and seriously impacted the hunting for others, but at 18, I don't think he's done so much poaching in his lifetime to cause serious detriment to other hunters. I could be wrong though because I wasn't with him growing up watching everything he did.

I think he should have to write a report at the end of his punishment also to see if his attitude and ethics have changed, or if he just thinks the system did him wrong.

Revisit this one and read some of the defense and comments.

Trio sentenced in trophy deer poaching case
A trophy mule deer buck lays in a shed where it was discovered while Game and Fish wardens executed
a search warrant in Washakie County. The animal was in the process of being harvested
was found. One of its legs can be seen on the bench to the left.
CODY – Following an intense
investigation, three Worland residents
were sentenced in a trophy
class mule deer poaching case that
began over a year ago.
Shenae Blakemore, 29, Cody
Gilligan, 23, and Colton Lapp, 19,
received sentences in connection
with the intentional illegal taking
of the animal in Park County on
Nov. 21, 2010.
Blakemore was charged as being
the primary defendant in the
case because she was the one who
actually killed the large buck mule
deer, according to Worland Game
Warden Matt Lentsch.
Based on a plea agreement,
Blakemore was given deferred
prosecution under W.S.7-13-301
and agreed to pay $3,000 in restitution
to the State of Wyoming for
the deer. She was also placed on
two years probation and ordered
not to hunt for two years.
Gilligan and Lapp were
charged as being accessories to
the intentional illegal taking of
the wild animal. They were each
ordered to pay $5,040. Their hunting
privileges were suspended for
two years and were placed on one
year probation. They also received
one year of suspended jail time, according
to Lentsch.
Blakemore shot the buck in a
closed area on the Greybull River
near the Park/Big Horn County
lines, Lentsch said. The case was
initiated after wardens found the
big buck in a shed at 919 West
River Road the next day.
“We had a search warrant for
Tim Lapp’s house,” Lentsch said.
They were there to retrieve a
deer.
“So we open up this back shed
to get at that deer and lo and behold,
there’s this huge deer they
killed the night before,” Lentsch
said. “And it’s a good one.”
The trio told authorities Blakemore
killed the animal in the
Black Hills near Sundance, because
the season was still open
there, Lentsch said.
The case evolved while wardens
were conducting interviews
and search warrants that morning,
he said.
“So the word was out,”
“The timing was just one
pure luck things, I guess.

almost like we were overwhelmed because there was so much going on.”Lentsch said he knew the deer hadn’t been killed in Sundance and that led to further investiga-tion. “The key to the whole thing that started it is they gutted this deer in the shed,” he said. Lentsch followed up by going back out that night and retriev-ing the organs from the deer. Upon cutting the stomach open, he dis-covered green barley and narrow-leaf cottonwood leaves – not con-sistent with the Sundance area. The area where the deer was reportedly shot has more pine for-est-type vegetation, he said. “They just got a map out and said, ‘This is where we were at,’” he said.Lentsch suspected the deer had been taken around Burlington. He spent a day looking at several fi elds near Burlington, he said. He came across a fi eld with lush barley growth that had over 100 deer on it when he fi rst saw it. It later proved to be the area where the mule deer was killed, just inside Park County along the Greybull River.“I was 95 percent sure that was where they killed it,” he said. “It actually turned out I was right. That was my biggest accomplish-ment.”It was an area that had been closed quite awhile, on a ranch where no one is allowed to hunt. Consequently, the deer are much tamer in the area, he said.Further investigation gave the wardens access to cell phone text messages of conversations be-tween the three which indicated the deer hadn’t been killed where they said, Lentsch said. Upon being charged in Park County for taking this deer, they retained attorneys which drug the case out, he said.They were charged under Wyo-ming State Statute 23-3-102(d), commonly referred to as the “win-ter range law” which was passed by the legislature to strengthen the penalties and increase the de-terrence for cases like this one, he said. The law provides penalties for fi nes of not less than $5,000 up to $10,000 and the loss of hunting and fi shing privileges of not less than fi ve years and jail time up to one year. The law is only applied in the most serious wildlife viola-tions involving the intentional il-legal taking of antlered or horn big game animals, he said. Lapp pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2011. On Jan. 20, 2012, he was ar-rested for failure to obey probation stipulations stemming from a vio-lation in Big Horn County where he entered an illegally taken buck mule deer in a big buck contest.Gilligan pleaded guilty on Jan. 6, 2012. Blakemore got the de-ferred sentence on Jan. 23, he said. If Blakemore follows the proba-tion guidelines, the probation goes away, he said.“I didn’t exactly agree with the sentence,” he said.While the trio denied Lapp was with them, surveillance tapes re-vealed he bought gas at Maverik and they bought bird licenses all together 10 minutes before that, he said. “The mule deer buck was one of those once-in-a-lifetime animals that most hunters only dream of harvesting,” Lentsch said. “It is extremely unfortunate that a deer of this magnitude was illegally taken.”The deer sported an impressive heavy 4x5 point rack which would score about 185 Boone and Crock-et points, he said.

Its a friggen Deer.He is not a Serial killer.he did a stupid thing.He went to Court got charged and that is that.

I have read a fair portion of these posts and I'm sure that kid is grateful his judge was not some of the posters here.

The best thing to do in this case in my opinion would be to educate and change the thought process of young guys like the kid in question here. The end result the judge wants when the court imposes sentence is that the person will not do it again. But from what I see here people want revenge. We have all done something that was not legal, so should we all be reduced to second class citizens?

You can debate, and counter debate his age all day; the fact is he is 18 and does not have the same views or moral judgment as a 45 year old man. All fines do is add to the state coffers; and the whole point of a disciplinary action through the courts is to correct behavior. The worst thing you can do to a young guy is take his time away. The fish and game departments all do lots of work trapping, tagging and counting wildlife where they need volunteers. Take a kid like this and sentence him to community service helping with the day to day operations of wildlife management. At the end of the day he will have an understanding and appreciation for why wildlife management and why it's so important. And we can only hope he will then pass on some of what he learned to his piers hopefully changing the way they view our wildlife resources.

Hows about looking at the other thread where young Mr. Lapp has a starring role.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...3411043/m/2051075071

quote:

Originally posted by jim in AK:
I have read a fair portion of these posts and I'm sure that kid is grateful his judge was not some of the posters here.

The best thing to do in this case in my opinion would be to educate and change the thought process of young guys like the kid in question here. The end result the judge wants when the court imposes sentence is that the person will not do it again. But from what I see here people want revenge. We have all done something that was not legal, so should we all be reduced to second class citizens?

You can debate, and counter debate his age all day; the fact is he is 18 and does not have the same views or moral judgment as a 45 year old man. All fines do is add to the state coffers; and the whole point of a disciplinary action through the courts is to correct behavior. The worst thing you can do to a young guy is take his time away. The fish and game departments all do lots of work trapping, tagging and counting wildlife where they need volunteers. Take a kid like this and sentence him to community service helping with the day to day operations of wildlife management. At the end of the day he will have an understanding and appreciation for why wildlife management and why it's so important. And we can only hope he will then pass on some of what he learned to his piers hopefully changing the way they view our wildlife resources.

I agree with this.Nothing like hard work to keep a kid out of trouble.

Involved in poaching two trophy deer in less than two years! Give me a break. Take his jacked up diesel pickup, his guns, and ban him from hunting for 10 years. You can bet our local warden has him on the radar screen forever.

quote:

The fish and game departments all do lots of work trapping, tagging and counting wildlife where they need volunteers. Take a kid like this and sentence him to community service helping with the day to day operations of wildlife management. At the end of the day he will have an understanding and appreciation for why wildlife management and why it's so important.

There is a waiting list of volunteers in this state to help with those projects,including myself, why reward him for his crime?

I expect we will hear more about Colton Lapp.
He's a repeat offender. Just like a drunk driver, shop lifter etc. I doubt he will stop anytime soon. Some people just never learn...............

"just a deer"? Doesn't really matter, he BROKE THE LAW....TWICE! He had already been through the courts for this very same crime! Doesn't matter what crime he committed, he is a repeat offender and should be treated MUCH more harshly then he has. Poaching, stealing a car, breaking into a home, holding up a gas station....they are all crimes. For every one of those but poaching, a judge would have nailed him to the wall for being caught doing this twice in 2 years.

CODY, Wyo. -- Some CSI-style investigation helped Wyoming Game and Fish wardens hold two men and a woman accountable for illegally shooting a trophy-class mule deer in late 2010.

Shenae Blakemore, 29, Cody Gilligan, 23, and Colton Lapp, 19, were sentenced recently for poaching the buck, which sported a 4x5 point rack and would have scored 185 Boone and Crockett points.

Blakemore, identified as the primary defendant in the case, agreed to a plea deal and received a deferred prosecution. She received two years probation and agreed to pay $3,000 in restitution and not to hunt for two years.

Gilligan and Lapp were both charged as accessories to the crime and were ordered to pay $5,040 each. Both men received one year of probation, one year of suspended jail time and lost their hunting privileges for two years.

Matt Lentsch, Worland area game warden for Wyoming Game and Fish, described the buck as a once-in-a-lifetime animal.

"It's extremely unfortunate that a deer of this magnitude was illegally taken," Lentsch said.

Lentsch said Blakemore shot the buck in a closed area on the Greybull River near the Park and Big Horn county line. The investigation was initiated after wardens found the deer carcass in a Worland shed in November 2010.

The wardens were conducting a search of the property and entered the shed while looking for evidence in an unrelated case. Lapp told wardens that Blakemore had killed the deer in an open area of the Black Hills north of Sundance.

Lentsch said he didn't believe the story and began investigating where the deer was killed. Based upon analysis of the stomach contents of the deer, along with other details, he suspected the deer was illegally taken along the Greybull River.

"The pieces of narrow-leaf cottonwood leaves were the key to the whole case," Lentsch said. "Narrow-leaf cottonwoods typically grow in gravelly soils like those found along the Greybull River, unlike the Plains cottonwoods found along the Bighorn River."

Lentsch said he also obtained text-message records exchanged between Blakemore, Gilligan and Lapp. The text messages also indicated that Blakemore had shot the deer.

The three poachers were charged under a Wyoming law referred to as the "winter range law." It allows fines from $5,000 to $10,000, the loss of hunting and fishing privileges for at least five years and jail time up to one year.

The law is only applied to the most serious wildlife violations involving the intentional and illegal taking of antlered or horned big-game animals, Lentsch said.

"The Wyoming Legislature passed this law to strengthen the penalties and increase the deterrence for cases just like this one," Lentsch said.

On Jan. 20, 2012 Lapp was arrested for failure to obey probation stipulations stemming from another wildlife violation in Big Horn County, Lentsch said.

Guess who? Anyone want to cut him any slack this time? Most poachers are like this kid, most just don't get caught as quick or as often.


Man faces 3rd deer poaching charge in year THERMOPOLIS – A twice-convicted deer poacher recently faced charges of a third case in Hot Springs County.Colton Lapp, 19 of Worland, made an initial appearance in Hot Springs Curicuit Court on six misdemeanor charges of taking wildlife while under suspension and for hunting from a highway or roadway. Since Lapp has already been convicted twice within the past 10 years, the new charges are eligible as felonies.The previous convictions were in connection with taking game animals without a license or dur-ing a closed hunting season. He was convicted in Washakie County April 14, 2011 and again in Park County on Dec. 19.
Lapp allegedly killed a deer in Hot Springs Co. Dec. 19 along Mud Creek Road because he was angry about being sentenced in Park County for his prior convic-tion, according to Wyoming Fish and Game wardens.He also said he allegedly killed the second deer Dec. 24 on Black Mountain Rd and he killed the last two deer Dec. 28 when he and a companion drove out to retrieve the head of the deer he allegedly shot Dec. 24. His companion, Gene Weh-rman, was convicted March 2 of accessory to wanton destruction and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and a year of supervised pro-bation.

I'm speechless kudu......what do you do to a 3 time loser at 19? If I were the judge, he would get lengthy, onerous community service (and an ankle bracelet for the next 5 years) with the caveat that his next crime means 10 years hard time.

I'd say put him in the military but they wouldn't have him and he'd probably be killed by friendly fire. He must be incredibly unintelligent not to realize he was in the center of WFG's radar screen with his history.

I'm interested to know what other's thoughts are on appropriate punishment for this incorrigible punk(skip the hang 'em high recs).

you'll have to cut his hands off to stop him.
no respect for game laws and not too bright either.
Needs a couple years in the "big house"
That will help with the anger management issues

Hey it is just a kid out having fun and he made a couple of mistakes!

No it isn't, this guy is a criminal that has repeatedly shown his total disrergard for the rules. The only way to stop him is 24 hour surveilance and never let him near a firearm again. What will it cause the tax payers of Wyoming to have that done?

I am with Raven, they should definetly remove both of his hands, perhaps castration (chemical or surgical) would curb some of this behaviour. Followed by an extended stay in general population at a max security penal facility. Hmm, no hands and no balls, in a facility filled with oversexed criminals, finally, some justice.

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I am with Raven, they should definetly remove both of his hands, perhaps castration (chemical or surgical) would curb some of this behaviour. Followed by an extended stay in general population at a max security penal facility. Hmm, no hands and no balls, in a facility filled with oversexed criminals, finally, some justice.

Don't I remember someone using that screen name coming to this kids defence when the first incident was reported???

This kid and most other poachers do the same thing over and over. He is just dumber than most and got caught. Fortunately the game warden read him like a book. It makes no sense, I have seen it as many of you have to. I just shake my head. I guess he is under the category of serial poacher and only jail will cure him. Maybe!

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Originally posted by kudu56:
Guess who? Anyone want to cut him any slack this time? Most poachers are like this kid, most just don't get caught as quick or as often.


Man faces 3rd deer poaching charge in year THERMOPOLIS – A twice-convicted deer poacher recently faced charges of a third case in Hot Springs County.Colton Lapp, 19 of Worland, made an initial appearance in Hot Springs Curicuit Court on six misdemeanor charges of taking wildlife while under suspension and for hunting from a highway or roadway. Since Lapp has already been convicted twice within the past 10 years, the new charges are eligible as felonies.The previous convictions were in connection with taking game animals without a license or dur-ing a closed hunting season. He was convicted in Washakie County April 14, 2011 and again in Park County on Dec. 19.
Lapp allegedly killed a deer in Hot Springs Co. Dec. 19 along Mud Creek Road because he was angry about being sentenced in Park County for his prior convic-tion, according to Wyoming Fish and Game wardens.He also said he allegedly killed the second deer Dec. 24 on Black Mountain Rd and he killed the last two deer Dec. 28 when he and a companion drove out to retrieve the head of the deer he allegedly shot Dec. 24. His companion, Gene Weh-rman, was convicted March 2 of accessory to wanton destruction and was sentenced to 180 days in jail and a year of supervised pro-bation.

Any chance the could add "Terminal Stupidity" to the charges?

SSR

THERMOPOLIS – Colton Lapp remains out on bail, his preliminary hearing on whether he should be bound over to District Court for Wyoming Game and Fish hunting viola-tions was “continued.” And the state’s plea to double his bond was granted. All the decisions, plus a stern warning from Circuit Court Judge Tom Harrington, were delivered during proceed-ings in Thermopolis Friday af-ternoon.

Lapp faces nine counts of hunting violations involving hunting out of season, killing big game without a license, and hunting from a road, all in Hot Springs County late last year. The preliminary hearing was originally scheduled to determine if the allegations and resulting charges against him were sufficient to move the case to District Court.But the focus of the proceeding moved from a preliminary hearing to bond revocation based on assertions made by prosecuting attorney for Hot Springs County, Marcia Bean through a bond revocation petition presented to the court.

Bean presented allegations in the form of affi davits that Lapp had violated several provisions of his bond agreement previously ordered by the court. Documents show Lapp is un-der house arrest with his aunt in Sheridan. Bean said he was reportedly in Washakie County without reason or cause and was therefore in violation of the bond release conditions set by the court.In the release documents agreed to by Lapp, he committed to having employment at the time of his release. But employment did not begin until recently, and that too is a violation, Bean told the court.

Lapp was ordered not to have any cell phones, and upon investigation it was determined he was using at least two different cellular phones, according to Bean, and that is a violation.In presenting her case to the court, Bean offered supportive language where the court should “consider characteristics of this person” in its determination of setting bond. And she noted disregard for the orders showed he did not follow the conditions set upon him by the courts. Lapp’s attorney, Nick Carter of Gillette, reminded the court that the purpose of bond is to make sure the defendant will “show up in court. He did come from Sheri-dan for this hearing.”Carter characterized Bean’s notation of Lapp’s actions as “not material violations.” He went on to say Lapp “is not a flight risk. He has kept in excellent contact with me.”Bean countered that Lapp had “opportunity to notify the court of these material breaches. We gave him opportunities and these opportunities have been squan-dered.” She termed his actions as “flagrant abuses of the bond.”Both Bean and Carter ended their presentations and Har-rington immediately responded from the bench.

He reminded Lapp that he had made a promise to the court to comply with the bond conditions, “that you would behave.“You are under house arrest with your aunt in Sheridan, and I get a report that you are floating around Washakie County.”He instructed Lapp, again, that if he needed to use a phone, he could use a cell phone provided by his aunt “in her presence,” and that included calling family and his attorney. “You are not to have a cell phone in your possession.”He increased the bond by $10,000 on a signature.

He then leveled the ultimate warning to Lapp.“If there is even a sniffle of a violation you will be immediate-ly arrested and drug over here,” Harrington declared. He asked Lapp if he had questions. Court was then adjourned.Lapp’s preliminary hearing was rescheduled for June 15 at 2:30 p.m. in Hot Springs County Circuit Court.Lapp also faces similar charges in Park and Big Horn counties.