Joshua T. Wielhouwer turned himself into the Park County jail on Monday.

Photo courtesy Park County Sheriff's Office

Authorities allege that a 20-year-old Michigan man poached nine deer in the City of Cody, then left their carcasses to waste.

Joshua T. Wielhouwer is alleged to have used a compound bow to kill does, bucks and a fawn between late August and early September. The mule deer were generally killed around the Park County Complex.

Wielhouwer is currently facing 18 misdemeanor charges — nine counts of taking a game animal without a hunting license and nine of wanton destruction of a big game animal — but a prosecutor said additional charges are pending.

“There are other incidents involving him shooting at vehicles or being contacted [for] shooting a weapon within the city limits,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Eichele said at a Tuesday court hearing.

Local game wardens believe they caught Wielhouwer in the act of killing a deer on the complex grounds on Sept. 4, but he ran away and fled the state, according to the allegations contained in charging documents and Eichele’s statements.

“He [Wielhouwer] also posted on his Facebook account, ‘Catch me if you can,’ indicating he is not all that compliant with law enforcement,” Eichele said. However, the prosecutor also acknowledged that Wielhouwer ultimately returned to Cody and turned himself in on Monday night.

At the state’s recommendation, Park County Circuit Court Magistrate Brianne Phillips set Wielhouwer’s bail at $36,000 cash; the sum was based on the restitution he could be ordered to pay — $4,000 per deer — if convicted of all the crimes.

Wielhouwer’s defense attorney, Tim Blatt, didn’t object to the figure on Tuesday, but indicated he’ll likely seek a lower bond in the future.

“It is my client’s intention to remain in the detention center until we have a better idea of these charges as well any potential new charges,” Blatt said.

He entered not guilty pleas on Wielhouwer’s behalf.

Discovering dead deer

Charging documents say the first dead deer was discovered on the morning of Aug. 27. It was a buck that, in the view of Game Warden Spencer Carstens, appeared to have been shot with a bow in Glendale Park the previous night; it died near a residence on 15th Street.

Another dead buck was found one house down, while a third carcass was reported near the lower pond at the Park County Complex. Those deer had also been shot through their vital regions, Carstens wrote in an affidavit.

Over the following days, wardens reportedly found another five deer around the complex and on Alger Avenue that they believed had also been killed on the night of Aug. 26. Those carcasses included four does and a fawn.

Meanwhile, a ninth deer, a doe, was found floating in the complex’s pond on Aug. 31; Carstens said it appeared to have been killed the previous night.

As part of their investigation, Carstens and fellow Game Warden Grant Gerharter of Cody gathered security footage from private residences and businesses in the areas where the deer had been killed. The affidavit says that effort yielded footage of someone walking around in Glendale Park late on the night of Aug. 26 and at the complex on the night of Aug. 31, both times being seen scanning the ground with some kind of light; Carstens said it also appeared that the individual was driving a silver sedan.

Caught at the complex

Carstens and Gerharter decided to patrol the complex grounds on the night of Sept. 4, and around 10 p.m., they heard what sounded like a shot from a compound bow. According to the affidavit, the wardens then spotted a young man armed with a bow and shining a light on the ground. Cartsens said he shouted for the man to stop and get on the ground, but the suspect fled.

While the man got away, the wardens located a silver Ford Fusion nearby that matched up with the security camera footage. They spotted an arrow laying on the floor of the passenger side and Carstens said it matched one found near the complex’s pond days earlier; he also wrote that the blade on the expanding broadhead was consistent with the wounds found on the dead deer.

When authorities contacted the local owner of the Ford, he said Wielhouwer had been driving the vehicle while he was out of town. The owner described Wielhouwer as a black male around 20 years of age with dreadlocks, which matched the suspect that the wardens had encountered at the complex, Carsten’s affidavit indicates.

Prosecutors filed charges and obtained a warrant for Wielhouwer’s arrest on Friday and he turned himself in at the Cody Law Enforcement Center around 7 p.m. Monday. Police logs identify him as a resident of Jenison, Michigan.

If Wielhouwer does post $36,000 and is released, he’ll have to stay in Park County and follow other standard bond conditions.

A jury trial in the case is tentatively set for Feb. 6.