Charges dropped against local butcher accused of letting meat rot
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IDAHO FALLS – A local butcher who was accused of wasting nearly a dozen game animals in a broken cooler has had his charges dismissed.
Dusty Cole Wakefield was initially charged with four felony counts of unlawful killing, possessing, or wasting wildlife, one count of misdemeanor wasteful destruction of wildlife and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
These charges were dismissed on Feb. 18 after a judge found the method of obtaining the evidence violated Wakefield’s Fourth Amendment rights, which protects Americans from unlawful searches or seizures by the government.
Since the 40-year-old’s arrest in April, motions have been filed to suppress the evidence obtained through an unwarranted tour of the business.
According to a motion filed by Wakefield’s attorney, Stephen Meikle, on Jan. 11, 2024, an Idaho Department of Fish and Game officer entered Wakefield’s business. The reason for the visit by the officer was to pick up a processed game package.
Wakefield was not present at his business and told the officer via text message to come by the next day. But the officer proceeded into the building, and according to court documents, said he went through the front door.
Meikle’s motion states Wakefield testified he always locks his shop when he is not present, and the only other way to enter his shop was through a shared freezer with an adjoining shop. Meikle says the officer is stated to have talked with an employee of the neighboring shop to gain entrance.
Upon his entry, the officer called out for Wakefield and proceeded to walk beyond the business’s customer receiving area and past a “Do not enter” sign. It states that the officer then opened the flaps covering the cooler’s door and used his flashlight to see the meat hanging within the cooler.
The next day, the officer and another officer came back and followed Wakefield back into the cooler without his permission. Meikle argues that the search on Jan. 11 was illegal because the officer conducted a “warrantless search of Mr. Wakefield’s game cooler within the business premises.”
“(The) officer was clearly not invited back to Mr. Wakefield’s game cooler. He did not have Mr. Wakefield’s permission to gain entry to his game cooler. Mr. Wakefield’s signage prohibited (the) officer from advancing beyond Mr. Wakefield’s customer counter area,” the motion states.
Meikle goes on to state that his client expects privacy at his business, and the officer was only there to pick up the processed game; he was not allowed to rummage through the building.
According to Seventh District Judge Joel Tingey’s finding of facts and conclusions of law and order, the officer’s search for Wakefield wasn’t inherently wrong, but what pushed it over the line was the officer’s action of pulling at the flaps to look inside the cooler.
“The court also concludes that looking into the cooler was a significant departure of what a typical and ‘reasonably respectful citizen’ would have done under the circumstances. (The officer’s) inspection of the cooler was a Fourth Amendment violation,” the court document states.
Tingey cites case law to explain how the unlawful search on Jan. 11 tainted the investigation on the following days. It states that due to the officer’s action on the previous day, he would not have returned the next day with his supervisor to confirm his suspicion.
“However, the officers’ desire to look into the cooler on the 12th was entirely based on (the officer’s) search on the 11th. As such, any ‘consent’ was tainted by the unlawful search the prior day,” the court document states.
Due to this, all evidence obtained was suppressed, meaning it won’t be usable. On Feb. 12, the state filed a motion to dismiss the charges without prejudice, meaning they can be refiled.
Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal told EastIdahoNews.com the judge’s decision to suppress the evidence was a technical decision. He said those officers have to make split-second decisions, and part of their job is to ensure that the meat from the game animal was being used.
“My feeling is that this (case) was fact-specific and certainly didn’t indicate officers that were doing something outrageous. It was a matter of one step over the line, according to this judge,” Neal said.
Looking ahead, Neal said with the suppression of evidence, they have to look at other ways to introduce the evidence or what evidence is left to keep pursuing the case. He told EastIdahoNews.com that for this case, it is unlikely they will refile the case on Wakefield.
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