Guilty plea changes Wyoming’s wolf torment case

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A case of appalling animal cruelty in Wyoming is close to being closed with a plea of guilty, setting a historic and significant example for the state and perhaps other jurisdictions.

In 2024, Cody Roberts of Daniel mowed down a wolf with a snowmobile, dragged the animal into a bar, tormented the wolf in front of patrons while the canine was still alive and later killed the animal. The public reaction to this brutality — across the United States and abroad — was overwhelming shock, especially after learning that the Wyoming Game and Fish Department made Roberts pay only a small fine for the wolf’s torment.

But the state Legislature declined to act to make wolf-killing-by-snowmobile illegal. In Wyoming, one can still run over some animals so long as the stunned animal is “quickly” killed.

Sublette County Attorney Clayton Melinkovich, however, convened a grand jury in August 2025 to consider criminal charges. Though this was an unusual move in the Cowboy State, he secured an indictment against Roberts for felony animal cruelty, which included a maximum sentence of up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

By accepting a plea deal in February, Roberts avoided a trial, and last Thursday, he appeared before Sweetwater County Judge Richard Lavery in Sublette County District Court to change his plea to “guilty.” 

Judge Lavery did not immediately sentence Roberts; instead, he is waiting for a pre-sentence investigation report from a probation and parole officer, who must first conduct a substance abuse assessment of Roberts.

If the plea deal is accepted by the court, the prison sentence is suspended and the fine reduced to $1,000. Roberts would also be prohibited from hunting, fishing, consuming alcohol or entering bars or liquor establishments, and would need to complete a substance-abuse treatment plan.

Animal cruelty does not occur in a vacuum. Decades of research show strong correlations between the abuse of animals and various forms of interpersonal violence. By insisting on a felony charge, mandated treatment and strict conditions, the county attorney has affirmed that cruelty to wildlife is wrong on its own terms and has implications for the health and safety of the human community as well.

This was a disturbing case, and the victim was a wild wolf — an animal deemed a “predator” under state law and one frequently vilified by Wyoming lawmakers. Yet despite the heated rhetoric surrounding wolves, several polls show that Wyomingites did not approve of Roberts’ actions. We also know from newer surveys that hunters, ranchers, rural Wyoming residents and people calling themselves conservatives all hold a broad reverence for both wolves and grizzly bears.

The attitudes of Wyoming’s wildlife authorities appear to be shifting as well. In another case, three Wyoming men were charged with tormenting a moose by trying to ride it.

These and other developments make this a moment of reckoning for lawmakers and wildlife officials who have repeatedly resisted outlawing vehicular killing of wildlife, or who have shied away from strengthening anti-cruelty laws.

For too long, Wyoming has been an outlier in tolerating extreme cruelty toward its wild carnivores. But the disposition of the Roberts case shows that the state does have tools and even the willpower to protect animals. This case began with the malicious use of a snowmobile to run down an animal. Now, several polls show that Wyomingites oppose killing wildlife with vehicles, which gives public officials in the next Legislative session an opening to prohibit this debased practice.

When Roberts proudly showed off his maimed wolf, he made more news than he anticipated, spotlighting Wyoming’s heartless “predator-zone” policies, where wolves and other animals can be killed cruelly by almost any means.

It’s up to state legislators now to strengthen existing legal frameworks, close exemptions for animals labeled as “predators,” and do away with the “predator zone” encompassing over 80% of the state.

The plea deal does not undo the suffering inflicted on the wolf, but it does create legal precedent and moral momentum. Prosecutor Melinkovich has shown what principled enforcement of animal cruelty law can look like. Lawmakers can do their part by prohibiting intentional vehicular killing of wildlife, which would go a long way toward creating a legacy of just and compassionate wildlife stewardship.