Accused Wyoming antelope poacher arrested after confrontation with police

A 64-year-old Moorcroft woman is accused of helping poach a pronghorn, cowering in a police “standoff” and possessing criminal amounts of marijuana and methamphetamine in her home.

The felony drug case of Tracy Rene McGee, 64, was arraigned Thursday in Crook County District Court.

She was cited April 23 as an accessory before or after the fact for allegedly “wantonly destroying” an antelope doe three weeks earlier, according to her court filing in Sundance Circuit Court.

It’s unclear who McGee allegedly helped destroy an antelope: An employee at the Casper office of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department declined Friday to say who else was involved in the matter.

Crook County Prosecutor Joe Barron could not be reached at the time of publication.

But first, a “dead end”

When Wyoming Game and Fish Wardens Troy Achterhof and Nate Holst attempted to serve a search warrant April 21 at McGee’s property on Windcreek Road in Moorcroft, they were unable to get McGee out, according to a separate evidentiary affidavit filed April 23.

Crook County sheriff’s deputies Jory Tadlock and Cody Lenz also responded to the home.

Game wardens called McGee and told her they had a search warrant for the property and that she needed to come out, the affidavit states, adding that she refused to come out.

Crook County Sheriff’s Sgt. Eric Stevens arrived, calling McGee by phone several times for several minutes each time, apparently in an attempt to get her out of the house.

She appeared on the porch at one point, then went back inside and closed the door. Officers heard the door lock, the affidavit states. They allegedly watched her walk around inside, looking through the windows.

This lasted for hours.

An affidavit in McGee’s drug case calls the incident a “standoff.”

Neither document indicates that McGee threatened law enforcement officers or brandished weapons at them, but she is accused of retreating into her home and refusing to follow law enforcement orders.

McGee, whose filing indicates she is free on bond, could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

Call 911 for the cops

Eventually, McGee agreed to come out and go to where Sgt. Stevens was. In doing so, she lowered the driver’s side window of her Dodge Dakota truck about 4 inches, the affidavit states. That doesn’t explain how she got from the house to the truck. A Google Maps search of McGee’s address shows a house with an attached or attached outbuilding, possibly a garage, at the end of a long driveway on a country road.

Stevens could not see the back seat area of ​​the truck. He asked her to unlock her door so he could look into the back seat. She would have refused.

The affidavit says Stevens told her to get out and she refused, even when he told her he would now have to arrest her on a misdemeanor charge of interfering with police for failing to comply.

McGee allegedly told Stevens she was calling 911, and Stevens said she could.

She called 911 and told the dispatcher what Stevens asked her, and the dispatcher told her to go ahead and follow Stevens’ instructions, the document states.

When McGee still didn’t get out of the truck, Stevens grabbed the top edge of the window and pulled the glass out until it shattered. He allegedly reached into the window, unlocked the door and removed McGee from the vehicle.

She was handcuffed and taken to prison on suspicion of police interference.

Then some medicine

The affidavit in McGee’s drug case states that while Wyoming Game and Fish was executing its search warrant, officers found drugs at McGee’s home, so they called the sheriff’s office for a separate search.

But before this second search, Deputy Tadlock questioned her about the alleged drug discovery. At first, she denied knowledge of any drugs, saying they belonged to two people who previously lived in the house, one of whom was her son, the affidavit states.

These people must have hidden the drugs in her home, McGee reportedly said.

Suspecting that officers had found an illegal drug in a black purse in McGee’s bathroom, Tadlock began asking her questions about her purses. She reportedly said she had four handbags: one red, one beige and two black. One of the black ones she described as square or rectangular, with interior pockets, the affidavit states.

But she reportedly denied any knowledge of the drug.

Tadlock asked him to submit a urine sample. The affidavit says she agreed to do so, but was later released on bail and did not actually submit a urine sample.

She reportedly said she had used a THC (cannabinoid) vape pen a few days earlier with a friend.

Tadlock asked if there was anything else in her system, and she became emotional and said a former resident was giving her medication, the affidavit states. The deputy later wrote that his movements were irregular and jerky; she couldn’t sit still.

The research

Sundance Circuit Court Judge Lynda Bush issued a warrant authorizing deputies to search the home for drugs. They found several containers of marijuana and methamphetamine throughout the house. A black purse allegedly contained raw marijuana wax, liquid THC and methamphetamine.

The suspected raw marijuana weighed 1.15 ounces without packaging. The suspected methamphetamine weighed 14.2 grams with packaging, and the unopened THC vape cartridges weighed 2 grams, the affidavit states.

Criminal charges

McGee’s methamphetamine possession charge carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. His THC possession charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana plants, interfering with a peace officer and aiding in the poaching of big game.

McGee’s case is ongoing.

Claire McFarland can be reached at [email protected].