Shelby County Deputy Arrested, Updated And View Court Documents

By Marlana Smith

A Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputy was arrested in connection with an incident during a 2016 hunting trip in Colorado.

On Thursday, October 26, 2017, the Shelby County Herald received a tip that Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputy Kade Singleton, 25, of Bethel, was arrested on criminal charges.

According to court documents, this case has been under investigation for a little over year.

“All I am going to say is he was arrested and posted bond,” said Shelby County Sheriff Dennis Perrigo.

When asked for more details about the arrest Perrigo said, “Call the Conservation Agent.”

When we tried to obtain a mugshot of Singleton from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, we were told to, “Call the Conservation (Department).”

According to court documents filed in San Miguel County, Colorado, nine criminal charges have been filed against Singleton. Singleton is charged with one Class 5 felony count of taking wildlife and detaching the bull elk head and antlers with intent to abandon the carcass, one Class 5 felony count of unlawfully killing and abandoning wildlife, two counts of hunting wildlife outside of an established season, two counts of unlawfully taking wildlife, unlawfully failing to reasonably attempt to care for and provide for human consumption of edible portions of bull elk, and unlawfully failing to reasonably attempt to care for and provide for human consumption of edible portions of cow elk.

The Application And Affidavit For Arrest Warrant filed in San Miguel County, Colorado details the allegations. Among the allegations are that Singleton’s party hunted before the season opened on October 15, 2016. In a February 17, 2017 interview with Missouri Department of Conservation Agent Ric Bishop, Singleton provided a statement stating they arrived on the property on Thursday, October 13, 2016. That evening they heard gunshots, but didn’t see any people.

The next morning on Friday, October 14, one member of his party, Mikel Rowland, spotted a bunch of elk outside the airplane hangar they were staying in. Rowland and his father, Murl Lusher, grabbed their rifles, while Singleton claims to have grabbed his binoculars. According to Singleton’s statement, Rowland and Lusher both fired at elk.

Later in the day, a fourth hunter, Brian Schanche, discovered a dead cow elk and later discovered a dead bull elk on the property. On Saturday, October 15, they removed the head of the dead bull elk and took it back to the hangar.

Schanche questioned the hunters and asked them if they had shot the animals, but they denied shooting the elk. He also contacted neighbor and property owners, but they didn’t know anything about the animals. Schanche reported seeing ATV tracks near the fence line where they animals were found. Schanche and the other hunters did not report the dead elk because “they did not want to screw up their hunt.”

The hunters claimed to have later attempted to salvage the meat, but it had spoiled.

The hunters left the area on Tuesday, October 18, 2016, according to Singleton’s statement.

The investigation began on October 28, 2016, and has been ongoing.

Charges were eventually filed on October 19, 2017, in the Seventh Judicial District in the State of Colorado.

Singleton posted bond in the amount of $10,000.

We have contacted the San Miguel Combined Courts to see if charges were filed against the other hunters, but as of press time we have not received a response.

Suspects are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.

View the court documents by clicking the link below. We have redacted landowners’ and other names that were not involved in the alleged incident.
Singleton 17CR40 Redacted copy