Four men accused of illegal bear hunting in northern Dunn County plead “not guilty”
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Four men accused of illegal bear hunting in the Town of Sheridan in northern Dunn County have pleaded “not guilty” in Dunn County Circuit Court.
Brandon Guthrie, age 32, of Ridgeland; Cody Shafer age 27, of Ridgeland; Hunter Strenke, age 22, of Clayton; and Adam Millermon, age 37, of Glenwood City made an initial appearance in Dunn County Circuit Court August 9 before Judge James Peterson on various charges stemming from the killing of a bear in the Town of Sheridan on September 10, 2021.
Guthrie and Shafer are charged with resisting a conservation warden and illegal bear hunting as a party to a crime.
Strenke is charged with killing a bear without a license.
Millermon is charged with illegal bear hunting with the modifier of being a repeat offender and as a party to a crime.
Guthrie and Shafer are scheduled for another court appearance November 8.
Strenke and Millermon are scheduled for another court appearance September 27.
According to the criminal complaint, a Dunn County deputy notified state Department of Natural Resources Conservation Warden J.J. Redemann on September 16, 2021, of a bear hunting incident that occurred on property along 1420th Avenue in the Town of Sheridan.
A landowner who owns 38 acres told the warden that on September 10 multiple bear hunters had trespassed on his property and other properties in the area.
The property owner said he believed the bear had been killed near a daycare.
Redemann spoke to a daycare owner, who operates a daycare out of her residence.
The daycare owner said on September 10, she could hear hounds coming through the woods behind her house around 10:30 a.m., so she brought the daycare children who were playing outside into the house, according to the complaint.
The daycare owner said she saw Guthrie pull into her driveway with a pickup truck with a dog box and that she recognized him from prior contacts.
Gunshot
The daycare owner said she heard a gunshot very close to the daycare, and when she went outside a little while later, she saw Guthrie with a rifle slung around his back, according to the complaint.
The daycare owner saw another group of people that included Guthrie’s father and two other people who the daycare owner said she did not know.
Multiple trucks had pulled into her driveway and onto her grass.
The daycare owner asked Guthrie about having permission to hunt and asked who had the bear hunting tag.
Guthrie said he had “the tag covered.” The hunters told the daycare owner the bear had not been treed and that they had to drag is across the creek after it had been shot, the complaint states
One of the hunters introduced himself as Adam Millermon, and then Millermon began yelling at the other hunters for trespassing.
The daycare owner said she had not given anyone from the group permission to shoot on her property, according to the complaint.
Nearby land owners reported to the warden that the group of hunters also had trespassed on their land.
Strenke
Game wardens talked to Shafer on September 23, 2021, and Shafer admitted he had lied about who shot the bear. Shafer had dropped Strenke off in a field, and Strenke told Shafer he had shot the bear by the creek, according to the complaint.
The wardens talked to Strenke on September 23, 2021, who said the only bear shot on September 10 had been shot by another person. Strenke said he did not hunt with a rifle because he did not have a tag and also claimed he was not in the area of the daycare.
When Redemann said he had pictures of Strenke behind the daycare, Strenke eventually admitted he had killed the bear and that Brandon Guthrie had validated the tag for the bear.
Strenke said Millermon had told him not to talk to the wardens about the investigation. Strenke gave the wardens permission to look at his phone but said he had deleted the picture when he knew the hunt was being investigated, according to the complaint.
