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Wyoming: Elk Poacher Nabbed Thanks To Stuck Pickup
By Todd Helms
Corey Cruz poached a bull elk south of Rawlins, Wyoming last fall. Cruz shot the bull in elk area 108 (a limited quota area) and tagged it with his general elk tag, a big no, no! Cruz may have gotten away with the crime if his pickup had not gotten stuck while attempting to retrieve the elk, and his subsequent posting about killing the bull on social media.
The poaching debacle involved a missing persons call to Search and Rescue which ended in an investigation by Wyoming Game and Fish wardens. The details are like something from a movie and ends with Cruz pleading guilty in May. He was fined $1570, “sentenced to 90 days in jail, with 82 days suspended and credit for days already served…” His hunting and fishing priveledges have also been recinded for five years.
This case is strange but what really has me scratching my head is the punishment doled out to Cruz. It amounts to a slap on the wrist and a slap in the face of law abiding hunters. As I’ve said numerous times, I can understand a mistake but have little tolerance for blatant disregard of game laws as is the case here. If Cruz unknowingly killed his bull in the wrong area then the right thing to do would have been to self report the mishap and face the consequences.
Either way, what truly irks me about this case is the ridiculously lenient punishment handed down. People like this aren’t deterred by the revocation of hunting priveledges, they will continue to poach game and $1570 dollars is a rent payment these days. It seems to me a fine of triple that amount or more and mandatory community service with the Wyoming Game and Fish would be better.
What say you?
https://youtu.be/asVJVhhwmdQ?si=LwnkmRME4ZOn1VnQ
Not sure when they’re going to start to hand down bigger punishments. Everyone asks for it. Why the hesitation?
Tyler my name is Corey Cruz I want to fill you on on what actually happened in this poaching case. I’ma avid Hunter here in Wyoming . I’ve been hunting for many years. I know the hunt area boundaries very well where I hunt. I have the up most respect for the game I hunt. I don’t hunt these animals for their horns and antlers. I hunt them for the meat they produce for my family for the long winters here in Wyoming. On October 31st 2023 I was hunting in general elk area 21 for which I had an and elk tag for and was open. I was going down a county road which I knew was the boundary between elk hunt area 108 and elk hunt 21 . I laid eyes on the a herd of elk there were 30 or 40 elk I could see in the distance coming my way. I then pulled off the road got out of my truck grabded my rifle and and walked 75 to 100 yards off the county road into area 21. The elk kept coming towards me single file downhill I knew that they were in my area which I had Tag for. I got within 150 to 200 yards. I knew that they were not going to get any closer. By then I had laid eyes on a bull that I wanted to harvest. I wanted to make it clean ethical shot. I then got in the prone position l and rested my rifle on some sage brush. I was able to get the bull in my crosshairs of my scope. The Bull only gave me a split second opportunity to get a shot. So I squeezed off on the trigger and Boom 💥. I made a solid hit but it was a little further forward than what I would have liked. I hit him in the front shoulder and my bullet didn’t penetrate or hit any vitals . The elk were well in the area 21 , when it took the shot. After I shot he then mixed in with the herd. By the time I seen him again. The elk had ran into area 108. I then went back to my truck and made a decision. I made a mistake and I own it. I wounded the animal severely and they were moving very quickly and would soon be out of sight and out of range. And in 108. I had no service on my cell and by the time a game warden would have showed up the elk would have suffered for several hours Or meat spoilage would have taken place. I don’t like leaving animals wounded . I made the decision to pursue the Elk. I then went towards where the herd had went over the hill. There was the bull that I wounded. Just standing there looking at me. I was able to get another shot off and harvest the animal. It then immediately went and field dressed the elk. it was such a warm day. I did not want meat to spoil. In the midst. Of all this my truck broke a CV axle and would not come out of the Area I was in. So to make a longer story short I made the mistake by not calling the game warden to pursue my animal into 108 after I had shot and wounded it in my area which I had to tag for which was 21. So I just want to say that this was not a blatant disregard of the law for whoever mentioned that in the post above. It was more about respecting the animal and not letting it suffer and also about feeding a family that needs the meat throughout the winter to survive on that’s what this was about. Sincerely Corey Cruz
Five year restriction of hunting license won’t stop these guys. They hunt without the proper license anyway.
Hit em in the pocket book and jail, plus restoration of every penny spent on the investigation and prosecution. Maybe that will get their attention.