For poaching nine deer in the City of Cody and killing a cow on a ranch north of town, a young Michigan man has been ordered to serve a year in jail and a couple years of probation.

Josh T. Wielhouwer, who turns 21 this year, must also pay $21,000 as compensation for the animals he killed, can’t hunt or fish for the next five years and, as a newly convicted felon, is barred from possessing firearms.

The sentence was a result of a pair of plea agreements that were struck between the prosecution and defense, then approved by judges in Park County’s district and circuit court.

“This is, under the circumstances, a pretty good deal for you,” Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah told the defendant at his second and final sentencing hearing on Monday.

The judge noted that the case drew “some pretty good public outrage.”

One cow in 2023, nine deer in ‘24

It was in September 2023 that Wielhouwer killed a cow on the Mooncrest Ranch north of Cody. Responding law enforcement officers from the Park County Sheriff’s Office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department found the animal appeared to have been shot in the stomach with a pair of arrows.

Investigators didn’t have a suspect at the time, but that changed last fall, when arrow-struck deer started turning up dead in Cody.

A total of eight mule deer carcasses — including does, bucks and a fawn — were found in the general area of the Park County Complex between Aug. 27 and Sept. 3.

Through interviews and surveillance footage, Wyoming Game Wardens Spencer Carstens and Grant Gerharter believed the culprit was armed with a compound bow and driving a silver sedan.

On the night of Sept. 4, they staked out the complex grounds and caught their suspect killing a ninth deer with his bow.

Wielhouwer managed to escape on foot and returned to Michigan; prosecutors say he later posted a Facebook message saying, “Catch me if you can.” However, he soon returned to Cody and turned himself in on 18 misdemeanor charges connected to the deer killings.

Another felony charge of property destruction followed in November in connection with the cow killed on the Mooncrest Ranch.

After spending a couple months in jail, Wielhouwer posted a $15,000 bond and was allowed to go back to his home in Michigan. He appeared for both his June 17 sentencing hearing in District Court and his Monday sentencing in Circuit Court via video.

Restitution figures

At last month’s sentencing in district court, he pleaded guilty to the felony property destruction charge and received three years of supervised probation. Two to three years of prison time could be imposed if Wielhouwer breaks the law again during his probation.

The Mooncrest Ranch initially sought $11,400 in restitution — $2,400 for the dead cow, $1,800 for an unborn calf, $1,800 for a calf at the mother’s side and $5,400 for calves the cow could have delivered in the coming years. The defense and the ranch eventually settled on a figure of $3,000.

As for the dead mule deer, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission recommends that courts order $4,000 in restitution for illegally taken deer, which initially led to a request for $36,000 in restitution. However, as a part of the plea deal, that was halved to $18,000.

Plea disagreement

The county attorney’s office also agreed to drop half of charges related to the poached deer: Wielhouwer pleaded guilty to nine counts of taking a big game animal without a license, while another nine counts of wanton destruction of a big game animal were dismissed.

Three Game and Fish personnel attended Monday’s sentencing — including Carstens and Gerharter, who’s now the department’s regional
supervisor.

The trio declined to address the court, but Deputy Park County Larry Eichele relayed that the Game and Fish personnel “do not feel this is enough for what they discovered.”

Eichele said he believed the sentence was appropriate, though he wished a lifetime hunting ban had been possible instead of five years.

Darrah indicated the arrangement gave him some pause, saying he “thought long and hard” about whether to accept the deal.

“I consider this to be pretty heinous,” he said.

The judge noted that both he and Eichele are hunters, telling Wielhouwer that, “you’ve basically taken a valuable resource away from people like us that would have the ability to harvest those animals in an ethical and legal manner.”

‘Continued monitoring’

During the hearing, Darrah asked the defendant if he’d gone through counseling or anything else to address “anything that you think may have been an issue in this case.”

Wielhouwer said he and his parents are Christians, and “just attending church and staying in the word has been a big help.”

Wielhouwer underwent a psychological evaluation earlier this year “to make sure there are no other potential hidden issues that we need to be concerned about,” defense attorney Tim Blatt later added, and he said the evaluation came back “pretty good.”

“There are a few issues with regards to continued monitoring of his emotional and behavioral issues, which his family is following up with,” Blatt said.

He said Wielhouwer’s parents adopted him as an infant in Ethiopia, where he was not being cared for.

“[They] don’t know what led to this, but obviously it got out of control,” Blatt said, “and I anticipate we won’t see Mr. Wielhouwer back before this court again.”

Darrah similarly said he hoped the young man didn’t have to see another judge, adding that “it sounds to me like you’re trying to get it together.”

Having already served 73 days at the Park County Detention Center, Wielhouwer is hoping to serve the remaining 292 days at a facility near his home in Jenison, Michigan. If the arrangement is approved by a court there, Wielhouwer will likely enter a work release program, Blatt said, which would allow him to continue his job and pay the restitution more quickly.