Grand County Councilman and Lutheran pastor John Maynard has admitted he posed as a game warden during the fall archery hunt.
Maynard originally pleaded not guilty, but as part of a plea agreement Wednesday, he admitted to 7th District Judge Lyle Anderson that he had claimed to be a game warden Sept. 6 in the La Sal Mountains, 30 miles east of Moab.As part of the agreement, Maynard's sentencing on the Class B misdemeanor will be held in abeyance for six months. If the councilman refrains from further criminal impersonations, the charges will be dismissed.
Officials said while bow hunting perched in a tree, he challenged three hunters who were in a pickup and holding bows and arrows.
He said he yelled at the hunters and said they were breaking the law.
The three hunters, including off-duty Moab police officer Kent Lindquist, challenged Maynard's authority and asked who he was. He replied, "Game warden."
The trio then drove up the road and spotted a pickup truck they believed belonged to Maynard and stopped to check it out.
While there, the hunters said, they saw the councilman "sneaking around on his belly."
Maynard said he hid because "I thought there might be a fight and I wanted to avoid any confrontation." He said he stood up and talked to the trio after being spotted.
"Lindquist and I had a discussion and we finally agreed we were both wrong. We shook hands and it was a done deal, that neither of us would press charges. The next thing I know I'm being charged."