By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – A 30-year-old man accused of killing a cougar in the Tatoosh Wilderness area of Lewis County without a hunting license is scheduled to go before a judge next week.
Cody M. Young is charged with one count of first-degree unlawful hunting of big game.
The McClearly resident allegedly took down the cougar with a bow and arrow on Sept. 9, a Friday and then bought the required license at a Wal-Mart about 2 a.m. the next day.
Charging documents in the case state that he met with a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer in Montesano the Monday after to fill out the proper forms and show the animal to WDFW, but he claimed he shot it while out deer hunting on Sept. 10, a Saturday.
He was very proud of his catch, according to the officer.
Young has prior convictions for illegal hunting, and another officer’s recollection of that prompted some investigating, according to the court documents.
Officer Warren Becker checked Young’s Facebook page and saw a photo posted there at 8:05 p.m. Saturday of the big cat, in complete darkness with the aid of a flash, according to the documents. But there was a problem with that photo, he noticed.
Becker knew if the cougar had been killed prior to the post the same day, there ought to have been some ambient light, given the time of sunset, the documents relate.
WDFW officers confirmed the time of the license purchase and even viewed Wal-Mart’s surveillance footage for further confirmation, according to the documents.
A search warrant was served for Young’s phone and phone records, which showed the picture of the dead cougar was taken at 9:14 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, according to charging documents. Also found was a text message sent before Saturday, stating: “smoked a cougar.”
Lewis County prosecutors filed charges on Nov. 16 and summonsed Young to appear in Lewis County Superior Court last Wednesday.
Young told the judge he needed some time to find and hire a lawyer. He was allowed release on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
He was told to return for his arraignment the afternoon of Dec. 22. Young declined to comment on his case outside the courtroom.
The maximum criminal penalty he faces is five years in prison and / or a $10,000 fine. If convicted, WDFW would suspended his hunting privileges for two years and impose a $2,000 penalty.
The monetary penalty can be doubled if the violation is within five years of a prior gross misdemeanor or felony conviction under the same law.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
Every hunter is obliged to take one predator a year if possible. Or encouraged to do so.
This guy bags a cougar, that he probably thought he’d never see, fugures he could buy a tag after the fact should he see one and kill one, so he does just that and starts bragging about it. Now he’s facing charges. He didn’t have to buy a license permit or tag to begin with.
If that cougar attacked him and he killed it there would be no problem whatsoever.
But then again, buy tags for all game and you won’t face charges.
This brings a tear to my eye. You bring a new meaning to the term “cougar huntin”