Minnesotans among those convicted of poaching in Wyoming

Cheyenne, Wyo. — An eight-year investigation wrapped up in Sweetwater County in southern Wyoming on Sept. 26 when Sean Thomas, of Farson, Wyo., was sentenced on multiple wildlife charges, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

The charges stemmed from an investigation into making false statements to procure Wyoming resident licenses, and the illegal take of black bears, pronghorns, deer, elk, and other wildlife in southwest Wyoming when Thomas and his family moved to Wyoming in 2014.

Among the agencies assisting in the investigation were game wardens from the Minnesota DNR and Wisconsin DNR.

Wyoming game wardens initially learned of illegal activity committed by Thomas, operating under Great Basin Outfitters, and his family in 2017 while investigating unrelated wildlife crimes. The investigation began in earnest in 2018 and continued through July 15, 2021 when game wardens, working with their counterparts in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Utah, executed search warrants and interviewed numerous individuals associated with committing alleged wildlife crimes in Wyoming.

Following the execution of search warrants in July 2021, game wardens continued their investigation and uncovered dozens of wildlife crimes committed by Thomas, members of his family, Michael Jordan and his sons from Stillwater, Minn., and friends of Thomas from Utah.

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Following are those who were charged and convicted of wildlife crimes in Wyoming:

• Sean Thomas, of Farson, Wyo., was charged with three counts of making false statements to obtain Wyoming resident licenses, five counts of accessory to the intentional take of two buck pronghorns, a doe pronghorn, a cow elk, and a bull elk, 10 counts of accessory to making false statements to obtain Wyoming resident licenses, one count of wanton destruction of a calf elk, one count of taking a calf elk with a motor vehicle, and one count of a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations.

Thomas was arrested by Wyoming game wardens on Nov. 10, 2024, and released on a $2,000 surety bond Nov. 11, 2024. On Sept. 26, 2025, Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to procure a Wyoming resident license, five counts of accessory to the intentional take of two buck pronghorns, a doe pronghorn , a cow elk, and a bull elk, one count of wanton destruction of a calf elk, one count of the take of a calf elk with a motor vehicle, and one count of a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations.

Thomas was sentenced as follows: Fines totaling $9,070 with $7,070 being suspended, $6,000 in restitution payable to the Wyoming Wildlife Protectors Association; 36 months of unsupervised probation – 24 months to be served consecutively and one 12-month period to be served concurrently and 365 days in jail with all but 40 days suspended and credit for one day served.

As a term of his probation, Thomas may not possess firearms or deadly weapons during his probation. Thomas had his hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges suspended for 20 years. He forfeited all wildlife seized in 2021, along with a .300 WSM Browning rifle, scope, and case.

• Michael Jordan, of Stillwater, initially was charged with one count of the intentional take of a buck pronghorn without a license, one count of accessory to the take of doe pronghorn without a license, and one count of accessory to the intentional take of a buck pronghorn without a license.

Jordan entered into a plea deal on July 21, 2023. Two of the charges were dismissed, and the remaining charge was amended to a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations. Jordan received a 180-day suspended jail sentence with credit for two days served, a $1,070 fine, $6,000 restitution to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and a one-year hunting and trapping suspension.

Jordan also forfeited a .338 Lapua firearm, a shoulder-mounted buck pronghorn, a shoulder-mounted buck mule deer, a shoulder-mounted bull elk along with another bull elk skull, pronghorn meat, and a bear pelt seized from Thomas’s residence.

• Austin Jordan, of Stillwater, initially was charged with one count of the take of a doe pronghorn without a license and entered into a plea deal on Aug. 8, 2023.

Jordan pleaded guilty to an amended charge of violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations and received a two-day jail sentence with credit for two days served, a $570 fine, $3,000 restitution, and a one-year hunting and trapping suspension.

• Joseph Jordan, of Stillwater, initially was charged with one count of the intentional take of a buck pronghorn without a license and entered into a plea deal on Aug. 28, 2023.

Jordan pleaded guilty to an amended charge of a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations and received a two-day jail sentence with credit for two days served, a $70 fine, $5,000 restitution to the Wyoming Wildlife Protector’s Association, and a one-year hunting suspension.

• Kristine Thomas of Farson, Wyo., initially was charged with five counts of making false statements to procure Wyoming resident licenses, one count of accessory to the take of a calf elk without a license, one count of accessory to the wanton destruction of a calf elk, one count of accessory to the take of a calf elk with a vehicle, and one count of a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations.

On April 11, 2024, Thomas accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to five of nine counts with the remaining four dismissed. Thomas received fines of $6,770, with $5,000 being suspended in full, a 90-day suspended jail sentence, a five-year hunting suspension, and the forfeiture of a .300 WSM Safari Browning rifle seized in July 2021.

• Wesley Thomas, of Farson, Wyo., initially was charged with 11 counts of making false statements to procure Wyoming resident licenses, 11 counts of accessory to making false statements to procure Wyoming resident licenses, and one count of accessory to intentional take of a bull elk without a license.

On May 16, 2024, Thomas entered guilty pleas on 10 of 23 counts and the remaining 13 were dismissed per the plea deal. Thomas received a $5,070 fine with $5,000 suspended, $6,000 in restitution to be paid to the Wyoming Wildlife Protector’s Association, and a three-year hunting suspension. Thomas also forfeited a buck pronghorn head, two bull elk heads, two packages of deer meat, and a badger carcass.

• Taylor Thomas, of Farson, Wyo., entered guilty pleas on May 31, 2024, to one count of taking a bobcat without a license and one count of a violation of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations, involving the illegal possession of a bobcat.

Thomas received fines totaling $570, a $250 public defender fee, $300 in restitution to the Wyoming Wildlife Protector’s Association, and a one-year hunting suspension. Thomas also forfeited a green bobcat pelt and a black bear hide and skull.

• Roger Thomas, of Ferron, Utah, was charged with 11 counts of making false statements to obtain Wyoming resident licenses and one count of intentional take of a bull elk without a license.

On July 1, 2024, Thomas accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements to obtain Wyoming resident licenses and one count of intentional take of a bull elk without a license. Thomas received fines of $5,470, with $5,000 being suspended in full, $6,000 in restitution; a 90-day suspended jail sentence, a two-year hunting suspension, and the forfeiture of a 6-by-6 bull elk head seized in July 2021.

• Tommie Mount, of Rock Springs, Wyo., was charged with six counts of making false statements to obtain Wyoming resident licenses.

On Sept. 25, 2024, Mount pleaded guilty to six counts of false oath and received fines totaling $1,040.

• David Pehrson, of Delta, Utah, was charged with two counts of violations of Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations and received fines totaling $350. Pehrson forfeited a bull elk head killed in the wrong area.

According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, “Solving this case would not have been possible without the help of concerned citizens reporting Thomas’s illegal activity. The assistance of game wardens from the Minnesota DNR, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources allowed Wyoming game wardens to seize illegally taken Wyoming wildlife and allow the prosecution to proceed of nonresidents who came to Wyoming to illegally kill pronghorns, deer, elk, and black bears.”

Additionally, the collaborative work between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Sweetwater, Lincoln, Teton and Sublette county attorney’s offices was essential to resolving the crimes, the department stated in a release.