Sep 23, 2022

Nebraska man who threatened wildlife officer gets prison

Posted Sep 23, 2022 4:08 PM

By Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An eastern Nebraska man who pleaded guilty to threatening to kill a U.S. wildlife officer and brandishing a gun during a violent crime has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in federal prison.

Cody Cape, 24, of Blair, was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Omaha to 117 months in prison, the Omaha World-Herald reported. There is no parole in the federal system.

Prosecutors said Cape and a friend were cited for a hunting and fishing violation in October 2020 near the DeSoto Wildlife Refuge. The friend later told police that Cape drove by the home of the wildlife officer who had ticketed them and that Cape had forced the friend at gunpoint to drive by an area where he thought the officer might be. The friend also said Cape explained how he could use explosives to kill the officer and his family.

Blair police arrested Cape on Christmas night in 2020 during a traffic stop and said they found a handgun and bullets in Cape’s vehicle. A woman who was with Cape when he was arrested told police Cape had said he wanted to kill the wildlife officer, prosecutors said.