Palmer man gets big fine, jail time in plea deal over illegal Dall sheep kills

A Palmer man will pay more than $15,000 in fines, serve 10 days in jail and give up hunting for five years as part of a plea deal over illegal Dall sheep kills last year near Sutton.

James Randall Wyatt, 58, agreed last week to pay a $17,200 composite fine and serve that jail time, according to a statement from troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters. Wyatt pleaded guilty to charges that included wanton waste, taking a sublegal sheep, illegal possession and attempted tampering with physical evidence.

A suspended sentence of $35,000 in fines and 2 1/2 years of jail time will be applied if Wyatt "commits any jailable offense or fish and game offenses in the next five years."

"As a part of his sentencing, Wyatt also forfeited his rifle used and he may not apply for a hunting license for five years," Peters wrote.

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Capt. Rex Leath, commander of Alaska Wildlife Troopers' Northern Detachment, said in the statement that Wyatt's actions had deprived legitimate hunters in the region of a rare hunting opportunity for some time.

"In the drainage where these sheep were poached, there are typically only about one or two legal sized Dall sheep every hunting season, and that is in a good year," Leath said. "There are not a lot of sheep up there. These illegal kills have essentially eliminated legal sheep out of the valley and nixed legal hunting for the next two to three years."

The 10-month investigation began with an August report to troopers from a witness that he and another man had seen a hunter — subsequently determined to be Wyatt — shoot two sheep in a drainage area 20 miles along the east fork of Kings River. When Wyatt left the area without an animal, Peters wrote, "(i)t was clear to the witness that the sheep had not been harvested."

"When Alaska Wildlife Troopers responded to the area they found one of the sheep fully intact buried beneath a rock pile," Peters wrote. "The second animal was found in the open. While the animal had been preyed upon by other wildlife, there were no signs that the sheep had any part of it salvaged by a hunter. Both sheep were sublegal."

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The month after that report, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game informed troopers that Wyatt was attempting to get a seal for a sublegal Dall sheep carcass.

"At the time, Wyatt told responding wildlife troopers that it was the only sheep he had ever shot," Peters wrote.

Troopers thanked the witness who came forward to report Wyatt's illegal kills in the field, saying he provided information that "proved critical in identifying the person responsible."

Wildlife troopers can accept reports of wildlife violations at any trooper post, or through the state's Wildlife Safeguard website.