A multi-year wildlife investigation has concluded with the sentencing of an Idaho Falls man who illegally obtained Wyoming resident hunting licenses and killed multiple trophy animals across western Wyoming.
It started with a few whispered tips and ended with a wall of trophy antlers seized by wardens. For years, Rodney Gilstrap of Idaho Falls lived a double life—Idaho resident by address, “Wyoming hunter” by paperwork.
Between 2018 and 2021, Gilstrap faked being a Wyoming resident to illegally snag easy-to-get resident hunting licenses. While legitimate nonresidents were saving up preference points, he was driving south to Wyoming’s mountains, shooting trophy mule deer, elk, and pronghorn—then heading home across the border as if nothing had happened.
But Game Warden James Hobbs of Afton was listening. After anonymous tips poured in, Hobbs launched an investigation that would stretch across four years and three counties—Lincoln, Sublette, and Teton. Working with Idaho Fish and Game, wardens served a search warrant at Gilstrap’s Idaho Falls home on March 18, 2022. What they found was a hunter’s dream—and a poacher’s nightmare:
- Four massive mule deer heads and antlers
- Two bull elk trophies
- One pronghorn buck head
- All traced back to Wyoming kills, none legal
The evidence led prosecutors to file 22 wildlife charges spanning multiple counties. In total, Gilstrap was accused of falsifying residency records, lying on license applications, and illegally killing big game without valid tags or permits.
Faced with overwhelming evidence, Gilstrap took a plea deal on August 1, 2024—admitting guilt to six counts, including making false statements to obtain resident licenses and illegally killing deer and elk.
Judge Gregory S. Corpening handed down a stiff sentence: 540 days in jail (with 519 suspended), three years’ probation, $10,000 in restitution, $17,905 in fines, and an 18-year hunting ban across all states in the Wildlife Violator Compact. Gilstrap must also forfeit all seized antlers and is barred from shed-antler hunting during probation.
He later appealed the ruling, claiming the court overstepped its discretion and mishandled sentencing procedures. But on June 10, 2025, Judge Joseph Bluemel upheld the sentence, and a motion for sentence reduction was denied that September.
Gilstrap now must report to the Lincoln County Detention Center on Nov. 7, 2025, to begin serving his 21-day jail term under a work-release schedule, with completion expected by September 2026.
Wildlife officials say the case is a stark reminder of the lengths some poachers will go to cheat the system. The illegally killed mule deer—scoring 180 to 220 inches in antlers—represent the kind of once-in-a-lifetime animals most Wyoming hunters only dream of taking legally.
“This was a deliberate scheme,” one investigator said. “He wasn’t making mistakes—he was gaming the system.”
Authorities credited the bust to the public’s vigilance and cross-state cooperation among wardens and prosecutors in Lincoln, Sublette, and Teton counties.
Anyone with information about wildlife crimes in Wyoming can contact 1-877-WGFD-TIP (1-877-943-3847) or text WGFD and their message to 847-411.
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