
Bucket Biologist and Illegal Hunter Sentenced Near Montana
It often seem to me that when you call yourself a social media influencer, you act with a certain air of entitlement.
Accurate or not, one seemingly arrogant self-proclaimer has found himself on the wrong side of the law. Hopefully the damage he's done to several waters can be restored to the way they were before he "influenced" them.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department tells us that a Cheyenne man was recently sentenced on multiple fishing-related charges. A Judicial District Circuit Court Judge sentenced Angel Smith-Torres, as part of a plea agreement. He plead no contest to one charge each of fishing without a valid license and taking wildlife under suspension.
Following a lengthy and vigilant investigation dating back to 2022, those charges were the most recent of multiple wildlife violations Mr. Smith-Torres committed, stemming from a case in which he was charged with and plead guilty to illegally releasing live fish into Wyoming waters, causing "significant and damaging impacts to several Wyoming waters in recent years."
Wyoming Game and Fish Department authorities began investigating a report of illegal stocking of smallmouth bass released into Cheyenne’s Sloan’s Lake by Smith-Torres. The investigation revealed a self-recorded video of Smith-Torres (social media influencer, remember?) releasing smallmouth bass. He was charged with the illegal transportation of live fish and releasing live fish without authorization.
Smith-Torres plead guilty to each charge and received $870 in fines, one year of unsupervised probation and a 30-day suspended jail sentence. His hunting and fishing license privileges also were suspended for 10 years. Like all states, Wyoming participates in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Under the compact, if a person loses hunting or fishing privileges in one state, the revocation also is in effect in all other partner states.
One week later, a call to the Stop Poaching Hotline reported that Smith-Torres was ice fishing at Sloan’s Lake the previous weekend. Recent social media posts showed him holding a fishing rod and a small perch. Additional social media posts and observations by game wardens over the next several months documented him fishing in multiple waters in Wyoming, Alabama and Nebraska.
As a result of his December 2024 plea agreement, the judge included an additional nine-year suspension of his hunting and fishing licenses, one year of probation and a suspended jail sentence for fishing without a license and taking wildlife under suspension charges. For his violation of probation, Smith-Torres received a 30-day jail sentence to begin immediately, with credit for eight days served after his traffic arrest.
It's hard to imagine we won't see him on social media again soon, showing off his angling skills.
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Gallery Credit: Ashley
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