Authorities are looking for a 20-year-old man suspected of shooting seven reindeer at a Butte farm where he used to work.

A grand jury indicted Caleb G. Bennett on multiple charges connected to the shooting in late January at the well-known Williams Reindeer Farm near Palmer that ended up killing five of the animals.

But Bennett has gone to another state, Alaska State Troopers said. Troopers have issued a $50,000 warrant for his arrest.  Gene Williams, co-owner of the farm, said she'd heard Bennett flew to his mother's home Outside. She did not know what state.

Bennett worked for a short time at the Williams farm on Bodenburg Butte Road in 1998 but didn't seem like a disgruntled employee, a surprised Williams said.  "I know he doesn't like us now," she said.

Around 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 31, someone drove up to the farm's fence on a snowmachine, got off and shot seven pet reindeer. One of the animals was killed outright, two others had to be euthanized and two died of their wounds later.  Tom Williams, Gene's husband, chased the snowmachiner but lost him.

A Palmer grand jury indicted Bennett on five counts of criminal mischief. The district attorney also charged him with seven counts of animal cruelty and one count of weapons misconduct.

Together, the charges carry total maximum penalties of $330,000 in fines and 33 years in prison.

Williams reported the dead and injured animals were worth approximately $15,000. But their emotional value was apparently tremendous. Leads from outraged locals helped troopers break the case during their two-month investigation.

Butte resident Scott Frank spotted snowmachine tracks in the fresh snow and spent more than three hours the day of the shooting following them.  The tracks led to a home on Juniper Street in the Butte where troopers later found a damaged snowmachine and firearms that matched fired cartridges found at the farm. Troopers said Bennett was connected to the house but did not elaborate.

Frank said he followed the tracks winding across an estimated 35 or 40 miles, and that "he went through a lot of effort to make it extremely difficult to track him." He wanted to see who or what kind of criminal would shoot reindeer from a snowmachine, Frank said.  "I got kids," he said. "I want to know where the hoods live."

In another lead for investigators, a local resident reported her cable service was interrupted on Jan. 31. Repair crews found parts of a snowmachine that had damaged the cable box, troopers said.

Authorities were close-mouthed about where Bennett might be, except to say he was in another state.  Troopers have "a very good idea" where Bennett is and are trying to set up an interview with him, said Palmer-based trooper Eric Lorring.  Lorring would not say whether a trooper has flown down to help bring in Bennett for questioning, or how soon they expect to interview him.  "We hope as soon as possible," he said.

Update 11/8/03:  The 20-year-old man who last January shot five reindeer at a popular tourist attraction in the Butte will spend a year in jail and pay more than $15,000 in restitution, under terms of a plea bargain announced Friday in Palmer Superior Court.

Caleb G. Bennett entered a no contest plea to three charges related to the shootings, one of them a felony. A former employee of the farm who lives in the Butte, Bennett will be formally sentenced on Feb. 9. Until then, he must remain in 24-hour "sight and sound" custody of his father, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler ordered.

Bennett and his attorney, Larry Wiggins, declined to comment as they left the courthouse after the change-of-plea hearing. Around 5 a.m. on Jan. 31, Bennett rode a snowmachine up to a fence surrounding the Williams Reindeer Farm, got off the machine, and shot the reindeer with a .22-caliber rifle. Two of the animals were pregnant. One was killed outright, two others had to be euthanized, and two died of their wounds later.

Bennett pleaded no contest to criminal mischief, a felony, cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor, and misconduct involving weapons, a misdemeanor. As part of the agreement, he will serve not more or less than one year in jail and pay $15,555 in restitution.  When arrested in April, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Shielding his face as best he could from a news photographer through a 20-minute court appearance, Bennett politely answered Cutler's questions.

As part of the hearing, Cutler read off the names of three of the dead reindeer: Autumn, Merry Christmas, Vicki. She asked Bennett to confirm he "damaged" the animals knowing he had no right or reasonable grounds to do so, which he did.  "You understand all the things I just said and you plead no contest?" the judge asked.  "Yes, your honor," Bennett replied.

The agreement calls for Bennett to repay farm owners Tom and Gene Williams over time, Gene Williams said by phone. The $15,555 in restitution reflects the cost of vet bills, plus the amount the family could have received from the sale of the reindeer, several of them trained show animals.  "Autumn, she's going to be so hard to replace," Williams said of one bottle-fed female deer. "She was just so mellow and good with kids."

Bennett will also participate in a six-month drug treatment program, assistant district attorney Richard Payne said by phone.

Wiggins told Cutler that he plans during sentencing to ask that Bennett's time in treatment be used to offset jail time, Payne said.

The district attorney's office will ask that Bennett serve out his sentence, then seek treatment, he said.

Update 11/10/03:  Bennett entered a no contest plea to three charges related to the shootings, one of them a felony. A former employee of the farm who lives in the Butte, Bennett will be formally sentenced on Feb. 9. Until then, he must remain in 24-hour "sight and sound" custody of his father, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler ordered.

Reference:

Juneau Empire

Anchorage Daily News