A Cheyenne man, a self-proclaimed social media influencer and nonprofit head, was recently sentenced on multiple fishing-related charges.
On Dec. 18, 2024, 1st Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Thomas Lee sentenced Angel Smith-Torres, as part of a plea agreement. Smith-Torres plead no contest to one charge each of fishing without a valid license and taking wildlife under suspension.
The charges were the most recent of multiple wildlife violations Smith-Torres committed, and stem from a 2022 case in which he was charged with and plead guilty to illegally releasing live fish into a Wyoming water.
The illegal transport and release of live fish in Wyoming caused significant and damaging impacts to several Wyoming waters in recent years.
In May 2022, Wyoming Game and Fish Department Regional Wildlife Supervisor Matt Withroder began investigating an illegal stocking case of smallmouth bass released into Cheyenne’s Sloan’s Lake by Smith-Torres.
Withroder’s investigation revealed a self-recorded video of Smith-Torres releasing smallmouth bass. In it, Smith-Torres states the fish came from Grayrocks Reservoir near Wheatland. Smith-Torres was charged with the illegal transportation of live fish and releasing live fish without authorization.
On Jan. 4, 2023, Smith-Torres plead guilty to each charge and received $870 in fines, one year of unsupervised probation and a 30-day suspended jail sentence. His hunting and fishing license privileges also were suspended for 10 years. Wyoming and 49 other states participate in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. Under the compact, if a person loses hunting or fishing privileges in one state, the revocation also is in effect in all other partner states.
One week later, a member of the public called the Stop Poaching Hotline to report that Smith-Torres was ice fishing at Sloan’s Lake the previous weekend. Recent social media posts showed him holding a fishing rod and a small perch.
Additional social media posts and observations by game wardens over the next several months documented Smith-Torres fishing in multiple waters in Wyoming, Alabama and Nebraska.
On Sept. 8, 2023, a six-charge affidavit and one charge for violating probation conditions triggered the Laramie County Circuit Court to issue two arrest warrants for Smith-Torres. The six wildlife infractions were three counts of fishing without a valid license and three counts of taking wildlife while under suspension.
On Jan. 16, 2024, Smith-Torres was stopped for a traffic violation by the Wyoming Highway Patrol and arrested on these warrants.
His December 2024 plea agreement, approved by Judge Lee, included an additional nine-year suspension of his hunting and fishing licenses, one year of probation and a suspended jail sentence for fishing without a license and taking wildlife under suspension charges. In exchange, two additional counts of each of those charges were dismissed. For his violation of probation, Smith-Torres received a 30-day jail sentence to begin immediately, with credit for eight days served after his traffic arrest.
