Man who harassed Yellowstone bison gets 130 days in slammer
The last alcohol-fueled binge before entering treatment for alcohol addiction ends with 130-day jail term for a man after harassing a bison in Yellowstone National Park, reports NBC News.
Raymond Reinke, of Pendleton, Oregon, who said he and his buddy were on a "last hurrah" tour through national parks before he entered alcohol treatment, pleaded guilty during a federal court appearance in Mammoth, Wyoming. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Carman sentenced him to 60 days in jail for harassing wildlife, 60 days for interfering with law enforcement and 10 days for disorderly conduct. He was given credit for 21 days served.
Reinke, 55, is banned from Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks for a five-year probationary period during which he is not allowed to drink alcohol. His planned chemical dependency treatment is now court-ordered.
The judge told Reinke: "You're lucky the bison didn't take care of it, and you're standing in front of me."
Reinke was first cited for public intoxication and interfering with law enforcement in Grand Teton National Park on July 28. He spent a night in jail before posting a $500 bond.
In the viral video, Reinke is seen walking up to a bison waving his arms. The animal charges him a couple times, but he was not injured. Yellowstone National Park regulations require people to stay 25 yards away from bison.
Though cited for intentionally disturbing wildlife and having an open container of alcohol, rangers were unaware of the conditions of his bond, which required him to remain law-abiding and avoid alcohol.
However, Reinke had mentioned his next stop was Glacier National Park. When officials put the whole story together a judge revoked Reinke's bond in the Grand Teton case and rangers arrested him in Glacier. Officials say he was causing a disturbance there, as well, but he was not cited.
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William Schabel
You will never be able to fix stupid.
Bob Godfrey
Having been to all of those parks I'm always amazed at the stupid "people" tricks that I see there. We were all stopped in a line of cars while a woman approached a herd of bison on the road in order to take a picture "up close and personal" and I felt bad for the Ranger who had to protect himself by using our car and others as a shield in order to confront the woman and get her away from the animal. "Ya just cain't fix stupid!"
Got what he deserved for a very stupid act. One of those, "Hey, hold my beer… watch this!"…. That was funny, I don't care WHO you are….
Barry N. Schmidt, D.D.S.
The man was an idiot, and an immature one at that. He did the crime and must serve the time. People need to take responsibility for their actions, and in this case, this moron will definitely pay the price.
Phil McCraken
Sounds excessive to me. I get the part about not following the lawful request of a duly sworn officer of the law. But what about making him do hard labor inside Yellowstone NP, after all he going in the slammer at our expense, then rehab, probably at our expense too.
Work the alcohol out of him with good old hard manual labor, tthe park always needs help, right.
Reply to Phil McCraken
I tried to get 'volunteer' work for a kid who painted graffiti on a public building. His parents were all for it but the city said he would be taking away work from a unionized worker. Give me a break.
Reply to George
Incredible. Making the kid scrub graffiti for a month would be perfect. A lesson well learned.
The local government workers shouldn't be unionized anyway.
John Yellowolf
What a total dumbas*! He should have been sentenced to a MUCH longer time. I seriously doubt that he'll stay sober…..