Cody Roberts, a Daniel resident, became the center of a closely watched animal cruelty case after a Wyoming state court judge accepted his plea agreement and handed him probation instead of prison time.
In February 2024, Cody Roberts used a snowmobile to ran down a young female wolf, taped her jaws shut, and brought her into a Sublette County bar to display her before killing her, and once photos of the incident spread globally, international outrage grew so strong that calls for boycotts of Wyoming tourism followed, along with renewed scrutiny of the state’s wildlife laws.A grand jury later indicted Cody Roberts on a felony animal cruelty charge, he pleaded guilty in March, and the sentencing hearing took place on a Wednesday in Pinedale.
What Happened to Cody Roberts and the Sublette County Wolf
On February 29, 2024, Cody Roberts chased a wolf on a snowmobile through Sublette County, running her over and injuring her before he captured her on private land near his home in Daniel. He taped her muzzle shut, drove her to the Green River Bar, and displayed her publicly, where he was photographed holding a beer next to the injured animal before he killed her.
Photos and details of the case reached the public and sparked backlash described as international outrage, and even though Wyoming law says predators can be legally killed by nearly any method, including a vehicle, the criminal conduct here was not the initial capture but the prolonging suffering, confinement, and refusal toward releasing her or killing outright.
The Plea and Sentence of Cody Roberts
Roberts entered a guilty plea to one felony count of animal cruelty at a March 5 hearing, where he regretted his actions, apologized to his community and family, and later returned for a Wednesday hearing before Sweetwater County District Judge Richard Lavery, who accepted the plea agreement and sentenced him at the Sublette County Courthouse in Pinedale in front of 25 people, with a dozen more watching through a livestream.
The sentence itself carried 18 months to two years of incarceration that stayed fully suspended so long as Cody Roberts avoided jail time, alongside 18 months of supervised probation under strict probation conditions, a fine near $5,000 with $4,000 suspended in one report and $1,450 in another, plus court costs and a $300 victim surcharge, a ban on no hunting,no fishing, and shed antler hunting for the whole probation period.
Probation Terms and Case Resolution
A rule of no alcohol that kept him away from bars, lounges, and liquor stores, a required addiction severity index evaluation through a level-one alcohol program, a DNA sample, and a ban on a police scanner along with weapons and firearms. Judge Lavery also told him to steer clear of persons of negative character and live a worthy and reputable life, and while the court found him remorseful, it flagged alcohol as his substance of choice and placed him under close supervision, a case that prosecutor Clayton Melinkovich pursued through a grand jury that returned an August felony indictment, aiming for rehabilitation, punishment,deterrence, and public education, since Wyoming law treats it as a non-violent offense.
Judge’s Comments
Judge Lavery called the charge disturbing and cruel, and he drew a clear line between the legal act of disabling a predator and the illegal act of prolonging suffering once the capture had already happened.
He spoke about Wyoming’s unique relationship with wildlife and the responsibilities that come with it, and he warned Roberts not to evade his probation terms. Lavery said comment on the case came in from around the world, yet he does not see himself as a political actor, and he called any change to the law a legislative matter rather than a judicial matter.
Advocacy and Reaction
Western Watersheds Project’s Wyoming Director,Dagny Signorelli, said the sentencing shows how cruelty toward wild animals stays effectively legal or gets treated as non-violent in this state, and she argued Roberts should have permanently lost his hunting and firearms privileges.
Wyoming Untrapped President Lisa Robertson pointed to a broader pattern in which serious violations against predators bring only minimal consequences, urging lawmakers to act, while Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, through president Wayne Pacelle, said they wanted real prison time but still thanked prosecutors and the judge for the felony cruelty conviction.
These groups also cited an outfitter who illegally killed a wolf in Grand Teton National Park and only got probation and a fine, ranchers tied to unlawful aerial gunning of wolves andcoyotes who were investigated federally but not prosecuted, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which had first fined Cody Roberts a mere $250 forpossessing wildlife and rejected cruelty charges under a predators exemption before sustained public pressure changed course.
Legislative Response
After public outrage over the case, the Wyoming Legislature passed House Bill 275, but the new law still leaves running predators over with vehicles remains legal, as long as the animal gets killed quickly. At the federal level, lawmakers introduced the Snowmobiles Aren’t Weapons Act, known as the SAW Act, which would stop people from using motorized vehicles, including snowmobiles, to chase down and kill wildlife on federal lands, echoing a 50-year-old federal ban on hunting wildlife from aircraft. Advocacy groups now urge Congress to contact representatives and pass the bill, since it cannot close every gap left in Wyoming state law.
WyoFile Article on Cody Roberts
Roberts, a 44-year-old father of four, stood quietly in the courtroom, spoke only to answer routine questions from the judge at sentencing, and let his attorney, Robert Piper, call the outcome an equitable action. A pre-sentencing report found little criminal history beyond alcohol-related notes and gave no reason to shake the February plea agreement, while prosecutor Melinkovich cited a Wyoming Supreme Court precedent warning against sob-sister types or vengeance, given the intense public pressure the story drew.
Lavery made clear there were no second chances, warning that violating probation, sinning, and asking for forgiveness would not work twice, in a story first broken by KHOL, Jackson’s community radio station, through Executive Director Emily Cohen, before he closed by calling Wyoming’s front-row seat to nature an obligation and offered closing remarks that wished Roberts good luck on your journey.
Animal Wellness Action / Center for a Humane Economy Op-Ed
Before the plea deal, Roberts had pleaded not guilty, even though critics called his actions calculated and malicious, pointing to photos shared withfriends of the wolf they named Theia, after the Greek goddess of light. Groups noted that Wyoming,Idaho, and Montana all allow running down wolves with snowmobiles, a practice some call whacking or thumping, and pointed to wider wolf management problems such as leghold traps, neck snares, being hunted at night with thermal imaging and night-vision optics, no bag limits, no closed seasons, and even cash bounties, since wolves here lack Endangered Species Act protection.
Advocacy Actions and the Cody Roberts Case
Through litigation against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, these organizations won a court case that could bring federal protection back to Northern Rockies wolves, and they now ask the public to send respectful notes regarding Cody Roberts to Judge Richard L. Lavery through judicial assistant Hollie Bramwell and to reach out to U.S. representatives and senators to back the SAW Act, since felony animal cruelty in Wyoming can still mean up to two years in prison, a $5,000 fine, and real accountability.
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