A Wyoming hunter accused of mowing down a wolf, hauling the wounded animal into a bar with its mouth taped shut — and allegedly torturing the animal before killing it — struck a plea deal that could spare him prison.
Cody Roberts dodged a trial for animal abuse and agreed to a plea deal that ordered him to pay a $1,000 fine and serve 18 months of probation, according to the Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday.
Roberts, 44, allegedly struck the female wolf with his snowmobile in February 2024 and showed up to a bar in the rural town of Daniel to show the injured animal off instead of putting the creature out of its misery.
Disturbing photos and videos showed the hunter smiling and raising a can of beer while holding the wolf, with red tape tightly wound around its muzzle, before he finally took the animal behind the building and killed it.
The shocking images fueled online outrage and scrutiny of Wyoming’s laws — outrage that intensified when the state’s Game and Fish Department ruled Roberts’ actions didn’t break animal cruelty laws.
Instead, Roberts initially received a $250 wildlife possession fine.
In Wyoming, laws allow predators like wolves to be killed by a variety of methods across the vast majority of the state.
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon publicly condemned Roberts’ actions, the Cowboy Daily Star reported.
“Cruelty to any wildlife is absolutely unacceptable. This is not the way anyone should treat any animal,” Gordon said.
In Feb. 2025, Gordon signed into legislation a law that prohibits the torture and possession of wildlife.
Wolves are federally protected in most of the US, but can be hunted and trapped in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Beyond the protections of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, wolves are labeled predators across 85% of Wyoming, making them fair game by almost any legal method.
Sublette County, where the wolf was killed, falls within the state’s predator zone.
As backlash continued to mount over the photos, Roberts was hit with a felony animal cruelty charge in August 2025 — months after the law — after a grand jury found enough evidence to indict him.
He was scheduled to stand trial on March 9 and faced up to two years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted before reaching a plea deal with prosecutors, the Cowboy Daily Star reported.
Roberts signed a Feb. 18 plea deal to plead guilty or no contest to felony animal cruelty, court documents reveal, the outlet reported.
Under the proposed deal, Roberts would be banned from alcohol, bars, liquor stores, hunting and fishing during probation.
If Roberts violates probation, he could end up behind bars for up to two years and be hit with an extra $4,000 in fines.
The alleged animal abuser is expected back in court for a change-of-plea hearing, but no hearing date has been scheduled, and a judge must still greenlight the plea deal, the outlet reported.
Roberts is expected to plead guilty or no contest to felony animal cruelty, though he could withdraw the plea and go to trial or seek another deal if a judge rejects the current agreement.
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