Wyoming strips Utah man of hunting, fishing privileges for 10 years

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ST. GEORGE – One Washington City resident won’t be able to hunt or fish in Wyoming for a decade, according to state wildlife officials.

Timothy Haws, of Washington City, recently pleaded guilty in a Wyoming court to five counts of “false swearing” about being a resident of Wyoming in order to obtain resident hunting and fishing licenses, according to a statement from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department issued Tuesday.

The court, in Uinta County, Wyoming, also sentenced Haws to serve five days in the county jail and pay $10,880 in fines and restitution. He will also have all game and fish license privileges suspended for 10 years and will be entered into the Wildlife Violator Compact agreement of 45 states.

Utah is a part of the Wildlife Violator Compact.

According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website: “Utah is a member of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, which is an agreement among nearly three dozen states to honor each others’ decisions to deny licenses and permits (to offenders).”

Wyoming Game and Fish Department Southwest Access Yes Coordinator Andy Countryman contacted Haws in the fall 2015 while he was elk hunting on his resident general elk license in Uinta County. Haws said he lived in Lyman, Wyoming. However, Countryman grew suspicious and looked into Haws’ residency status.

When contacted later the next spring, Haws was in Washington, Utah, with his family, according to Wyoming wildlife officials.

“It was discovered that he had made false statements to procure Wyoming resident hunting/fishing licenses from 2011-2015,” Countryman said. “Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission verified Mr. Haws purchased resident hunting and fishing licenses in 2011 and Utah Department of Natural Resources confirmed Mr. Haws purchased resident fishing licenses in 2012 and 2013. Other evidence collected led to the prosecution of false oath statements from 2011-2015.”

The case finalized Dec. 8, 2016.

Wyoming law states a person must reside in the state at least a full year in order to obtain residency game and fish licenses and may not claim residency anywhere else during that period. Residency status is also lost if a Wyoming resident moves out of state or claims residency elsewhere.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @MoriKessler

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

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