GREEN RIVER—A Sweetwater County judge on Wednesday told Cody Roberts’ defense attorney that his interpretation of state law “goes too far,” a suggestion that the Daniel resident’s felony animal cruelty charge is headed toward a March jury trial.  District Court Judge Richard Lavery di d not rule from the bench after a 2.5-hour hearing on a motion to dismiss the case and exclude an expert witness. A written decision is forthcoming, he said.  But Lavery made it clear that he wasn’t persuaded by a primary argument posed by Roberts’ attorney, Robert Piper: Specifically, that there is a “specific, clearly enumerated exception” in Wyoming statute that exempts the “hunting, capture, killing or destruction of any predatory animal” from the state’s animal cruelty laws.   “It just seems a bridge too far that the state can’t pursue [charges],” Lavery told the courtroom. There’s “at least a space,” he added, for Sublette County Prosecuting Attorney Clayton Melinkovich to present evidence in pursuit of a conviction.  On Feb. 29, 2024, Roberts took a muzzled wolf into the Green River Bar in Daniel for hours, appearing in photographs to make a joke out of the injured animal’s plight. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department fined him $250 for possession of warm-blooded wildlife, declining to send the case to court in pursuit of stiffer penalties. When photos and videos became public about a month later, the incident incited global outrage and condemnation that rattled the small western Wyoming community.  This is a breaking news story that will be updated.  The post Judge suggests wolf captor Cody Roberts’ felony case will proceed to trial appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less