An Oregon man who brazenly taunted a bison in Yellowstone National Park pleaded guilty to four charges related to his behavior there and in Grand Teton National Park and was ordered to spend 130 days in jail, banned from drinking alcohol or visiting bars, and told to stay out of Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier national parks for five years.
The pleas and resulting sentences for Raymond Reinke, 55, of Pendleton, were entered Thursday in U.S. Magistrate Court in Yellowstone.
Reinke entered guilty pleas to interferring/resisting a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, storing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and disturbing wildlife, according to court documents. The first two charges were from incidents in Grand Teton, the second two from Yellowstone.
As a result of the plea agreement, a charge of under the influence of alcohol on July 28 in Grand Teton and a disorderly conduct charge on July 31 in Yellowstone were dismissed.
U.S. Magistrate Mark Carmen accepted the terms of the plea agreement for the Class B misdemeanors. Sentencing included:
* 130 days of incarceration
* $70 in court fees and assessments, with no additional fines incurred
* 5 years of unsupervised probation, during which he cannot visit the three parks
* Alcohol and bar ban
* Substance abuse evaluation and successful treatment if required by the evaluation
* Alcohol testing upon reasonable suspicion
* Submit to searching for alcohol and/or controlled substances upon reasonable suspicion
According to park officials, Reinke had been traveling to multiple national parks over the last week of July. On July 28, he was first arrested by law enforcement rangers at Grand Teton for a drunk and disorderly conduct incident, Yellowstone officials said, adding that he spent the night in the Teton County Jail, and was then released on bond.
Following his release, he traveled to Yellowstone, where rangers stopped his vehicle for a traffic violation on July 31. Reinke appeared to be intoxicated and argumentative, they said. He was cited as a passenger for failure to wear a seat belt. It is believed that after that traffic stop, Reinke encountered the bison, the park release said.
Yellowstone rangers received several wildlife harassment reports from concerned visitors and found Reinke later that evening, issuing a citation requiring a court appearance. The video of the event surfaced after that citation had been issued.
On Thursday, August 2, Yellowstone rangers connected Reinke’s extensive history, and seeing the egregious nature of the wildlife violation, the assistant U.S. attorney requested his bond be revoked. The request was granted and on the night of August 2, a warrant was issued for Reinke’s arrest.
Reinke had told rangers that his plans were to travel to Glacier, where rangers began looking for his vehicle. Simultaneous with that search, rangers responded to the Many Glacier Hotel because two guests were arguing and creating a disturbance in the hotel dining room. Rangers identified one of the individuals involved as Reinke.
“The judge’s decision today reinforces the park’s commitment toward protecting wildlife and other natural resources as well as our visiting public,” said Yellowstone National Park Deputy Superintendent Pat Kenney. “We encourage everyone to commit to stewardship of our public lands while enjoying our national parks and respecting the experiences of others."
Comments
That man is an imbecile .
Hooray! Behavior like that is not acceptable in our parks. I would have banned him from all National Parks, for 50 years. Neither the rangers or the public should have to deal with him....or anyone like him!
He should have been banned from National Parks for life. He's a danger not only the animals but other tourists.
I Agree.... What a disgrace...
My reading of other stories on this guy was that this particular trip was considered a "last hurrah" before checking into alcohol treatment. Might not have been a good idea on second thought.