Raymond Reinke, 55, has been sentenced to 130 days in jail after pleading guilty to harassing bison in Yellowstone National Park
The Oregon man who was caught on video harassing a Yellowstone bison after guzzling eight hurricane malt liquors as his ‘last hurrah’ before heading to rehab, has been sentenced to jail.
Raymond Reinke, 55, pleaded guilty in federal court in Mammoth, Wyoming to four charges of misconduct in two national parks.
On Thursday Magistrate Judge Mark Carman sentenced him to a total of 130 days in jail – 60 for harassing wildlife, 60 for interfering with law enforcement, and 10 for disorderly conduct.
He was given a credit for 21 days already served.
He is also banned from Grand Teton, Yellowstone and Glacier national parks for a five-year probationary period, during which he is banned from drinking alcohol.
His planned chemical dependency treatment is now court-ordered.
Raymond Reinke, with his wrists and ankles shackled, is led out the backdoor of the Yellowstone Justice Center on August 8 following his initial hearing at Yellowstone National Park, during which he was denied bail
Reinke, of Pendleton, led a spree of outbursts dotting the Northwest as he bopped from one national park to another, in each place running into trouble for disorderly conduct or drunkenness, over the course of six days.
It all started on July 28 at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming where he ran into trouble for drunk and disorderly conduct and spent a night in jail.
Then he had a traffic violation and harassed a bison on the road in a viral video at Yellowstone National Park on July 31.
He shot to fame for that video where Reinke is seen beating his chest and yelling at the animal, causing it to become agitated and charge towards him.
Following several wildlife harassment reports connecting the Oregon man to the harassment, a citation for a court appearance was issued for Reinke.
Finally he was tracked down and arrested on August 3 at Glacier National Park in Montana.
Reinke was seen in a Facebook video taunting a bison at Yellowstone National Park last week. He was beating his chest and roaring at the animal, causing it to get agitated and charge
The video was filmed by park goer Lindsey Jones and shared on Facebook. The footage quickly went viral, sparking an investigation
He led his streak of disorderly conduct starting at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, then Yellowstone, then Glacier National Park in Montana over the course of six days
Raymond Reinke has described himself as ‘definitely an alcoholic’ who had been in treatment at least three times — and now planned on going back.
‘I have completed three state and US government certified courses and then when this trip was over I was going to go in for another in-patient program,’ he said. ‘This was like my last hoorah.’
He was sentenced for his drunken behavior in two national parks in Wyoming, and was not cited for his drunken outburst at Glacier National Park in Montana.
He says the bison-taunting video brought him unwanted fame.
Despite a court order that he not touch booze following his first violation in Grand Teton, Reinke guzzled six-to-eight Hurricanes – a malt liquor with an alcohol content of 8 per cent – before his bison rampage, according to his travel pal Ted Wyrick.
Reinke’s week-long streak is just a small part of extensive rap sheet dating back to 2013, filled with several disorderly conduct charges, pictured in old mugshots
Reinke said he had no idea his drinking would lead to federal charges as normally if he got into trouble he could move from one town to another.
‘You guys at the federal level are just Johnny-on-the-spot,’ he said in court.
‘You have long, long arms and I just didn’t think that if I had a couple of beers how fast things would complicate themselves.’
Reinke’s week-long streak is just a small part of extensive rap sheet dating back to 2013, filled with several disorderly conduct charges.
Prosecutor Leland Pico told the court that park rangers had called police in Pendleton who said they had had dealings with Reinke for 19 years. They had called him ‘a doper’ whose drug use may have caused mental health issues.
‘They described him as a volatile man who does not care about authority. He is frequently under the influence of alcohol,’ said Pico.