Turner admitted that he did not call Animal Control to pick up the trap with the skunk because he assumed the Animal Control officers would return soon. The officers said their policy was to not pick up traps on weekends. But if an animal had already been captured, Roberts said, he was sure they would have responded.

But Roberts said hearing Turner's testimony and his timeline of events filled in some missing pieces of the story.

"It's fantastic. I'm glad it went the way it did," Turner said. "Sometimes it takes a process to get to this point."

Both Turner and his attorney, Susanne Gustin, said they were surprised the case went as far as it did, including the 90-minute trial, before the charge was dropped.

"It's ridiculous it had to go this far," Gustin said. "I think (Turner is) a hero. He does not deserve incarceration. He deserves a medal."

Turner also had the full support of The Humane Society of Utah, which was present for the trial but ended up not testifying because the case was dismissed before their turn.

If faced with the same situation again, Turner said he would do everything about the same, with the exception of attempting to call someone after he moved the trap.

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