Hunter vows to blow up game warden’s truck, home after poaching investigation, FBI says

A Nebraska man faces several charges after threatening to kill a game warden who’d been investigating him for poaching, the FBI said.

The U.S. Wildlife Officer crossed paths with Cody Cape, 22, and another man in October, when they were cited with fishing and deer hunting violations at the DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

The next month, the game warden — along with other law enforcement officers — was tasked with investigating Cape for his potential involvement in deer poaching incidents in Iowa and Nebraska, according to the complaint.

As a result of the investigation, officials say Cape and the man may face prosecution which could result in the loss of hunting privileges, fines and potential jail time.

Just after midnight Christmas Day, Cape’s hunting companion called police in Blair, Nebraska, to report a potential attack against the warden, who lives in the town, documents show.

Police met with the caller who explained that Cape had previously picked him up to “hang out and drive around,” before taking the caller past the game warden’s home. There, Cape cursed and flipped off the residence, explaining to the caller that he’d been watching the warden’s home for a week or two, documents indicate.

Cape then drove the caller to a home in nearby Omaha to pick up some guns before laying a handgun on his lap and forcing the caller to drive to the Desoto National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa to see whether the warden was inside any of the on-site housing units, according to the complaint.

The pair left when Cape couldn’t find the warden’s truck. On the drive back to Blair, documents indicate that Cape told the caller he planned to murder the game warden.

Cape is accused of telling the caller he could get a handful of explosives — including TNT, C4 and dynamite — from former military friends and that he might rig explosives to the warden’s car or throw dynamite into the warden’s residence to kill the warden and his family.

The caller also told police that Cape mentioned dying by means of “suicide by cop ... because he did not want to go to jail again,” documents show.

Police began to watch Cape’s home after this call and arrested him Christmas night after they saw him driving erratically, according to the complaint. His passenger, a woman, was also detained. Officers found an unloaded gun in the glove compartment and six bullets in the center console, police say.

The next day, the woman told police that Cape had mentioned wanting to kill the game warden and that he had planned to shoot the warden at his home, documents show.

During an interview, police asked Cape if it was believable that his statements might mean he wanted to kill the warden and he allegedly replied: “It’s possible, I’m a very believable person.”

Police pressed on, asking if he had said he wanted to kill the warden and Cape replied “probably,” according to the complaint, before he went on to say that he would never actually harm him.

Cape was arrested and charged with threatening to murder a federal officer, interstate kidnapping and brandishing a firearm, documents show.

Blair is in eastern Nebraska just north of Omaha near the Iowa line.

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Hunter vows to blow up game warden’s truck, home after poaching investigation, FBI says."