Washington Hunter
Well-known member
Published February 04, 2007
Brandon Loomis
KENAI, Alaska - Dozens of hoodwinked hunters bagged a measure of justice Friday in the case of the wilderness guide who set himself on fire when he couldn't work a camp stove.
Wally Dean Jackson Jr. of Nikiski was sentenced to two years in prison for misrepresenting himself as a hunting and fishing guide, defrauding sportsmen out of $100,000 or more. Kenai Superior Court Judge Harold Brown suspended another 9.5 years of prison time that Jackson could face if he violates terms of his 10-year probation.
In what troopers with the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement called the most stupefying case of guiding fraud the state has seen, Jackson pleaded no contest to numerous counts including guiding without a license and scheming to defraud victims, some of whom he never met, even after they paid him.
Those who did meet Jackson soon regretted it, investigators said.
"His woodsman savvy is zero, but he tells everyone he's second to Jim Bridger," trooper Marc Cloward said after the sentencing, a reference to the 19th century mountain man of mythic proportions.
Consider the time that Jackson took clients into the woods and they reported that he couldn't figure out the stove - ultimately breaking the outdoorsman's first rule of safety by dumping fuel on a flame, troopers said.
"Mr. Jackson had no idea how to use the cook stove, and when he tried to he set himself on fire," prosecutor Andrew Peterson told the judge during Friday's hearing. That anecdote drew derisive laughter from the 17 victims who had phoned in to hear Jackson's fate by conference call.
In the camp stove episode, the clients extinguished the flames, troopers said.
Once, according to the state, Jackson picked up an old pelvic bone from a moose and told clients who knew better that it was a moose skull.
Another time, Jackson met clients for a guided river trip and couldn't figure out which end of the raft was the front, according to the state's sentencing memorandum.
The trips occurred between 2002 and 2005, including after troopers began interviewing Jackson about complaints.
In several cases, investigators said, Jackson brought clients to remote destinations and then left them, claiming his mother had a stroke or that there was a murder in the family. The clients made their own way back or sought assistance.
"He's lucky he didn't kill somebody, abandoning people in the field," Cloward said. "He's totally inexperienced and always biting off more than he could handle."
On a Web site that allows clients to rate guides, one from England who allegedly lost $5,000 when Jackson skipped out on his trip rated him "terrible" in several service categories, and "city slicker" for guiding experience.
In court Friday, the 37-year-old would-be guide apologized and said he meant to run an honest business.
"It wasn't my goal to defraud anybody," he said. "It is our full intent to repay the victims."
Brandon Loomis
KENAI, Alaska - Dozens of hoodwinked hunters bagged a measure of justice Friday in the case of the wilderness guide who set himself on fire when he couldn't work a camp stove.
Wally Dean Jackson Jr. of Nikiski was sentenced to two years in prison for misrepresenting himself as a hunting and fishing guide, defrauding sportsmen out of $100,000 or more. Kenai Superior Court Judge Harold Brown suspended another 9.5 years of prison time that Jackson could face if he violates terms of his 10-year probation.
In what troopers with the Alaska Bureau of Wildlife Enforcement called the most stupefying case of guiding fraud the state has seen, Jackson pleaded no contest to numerous counts including guiding without a license and scheming to defraud victims, some of whom he never met, even after they paid him.
Those who did meet Jackson soon regretted it, investigators said.
"His woodsman savvy is zero, but he tells everyone he's second to Jim Bridger," trooper Marc Cloward said after the sentencing, a reference to the 19th century mountain man of mythic proportions.
Consider the time that Jackson took clients into the woods and they reported that he couldn't figure out the stove - ultimately breaking the outdoorsman's first rule of safety by dumping fuel on a flame, troopers said.
"Mr. Jackson had no idea how to use the cook stove, and when he tried to he set himself on fire," prosecutor Andrew Peterson told the judge during Friday's hearing. That anecdote drew derisive laughter from the 17 victims who had phoned in to hear Jackson's fate by conference call.
In the camp stove episode, the clients extinguished the flames, troopers said.
Once, according to the state, Jackson picked up an old pelvic bone from a moose and told clients who knew better that it was a moose skull.
Another time, Jackson met clients for a guided river trip and couldn't figure out which end of the raft was the front, according to the state's sentencing memorandum.
The trips occurred between 2002 and 2005, including after troopers began interviewing Jackson about complaints.
In several cases, investigators said, Jackson brought clients to remote destinations and then left them, claiming his mother had a stroke or that there was a murder in the family. The clients made their own way back or sought assistance.
"He's lucky he didn't kill somebody, abandoning people in the field," Cloward said. "He's totally inexperienced and always biting off more than he could handle."
On a Web site that allows clients to rate guides, one from England who allegedly lost $5,000 when Jackson skipped out on his trip rated him "terrible" in several service categories, and "city slicker" for guiding experience.
In court Friday, the 37-year-old would-be guide apologized and said he meant to run an honest business.
"It wasn't my goal to defraud anybody," he said. "It is our full intent to repay the victims."
, been guiding for 10 years now. got no money, a tiny house, no toys but danged if my little boys don't fly off the handle when i bring game home!!
