South Salt Lake skunk case dismissed

SOUTH SALT LAKE — The case of Sammy the Skunk raised a big stink, but in the end, prosecutors said it was all just a misunderstanding.

Ryan Turner appeared Thursday for a trial in South Salt Lake Justice Court on a charge of wrongful appropriation, a class C misdemeanor. He was accused of moving an animal trap from South Salt Lake city property without permission and onto his own property after the trap had captured a skunk.

Turner said he was trying to be humane to the skunk, which had been sitting in the metal trap without shade or water for hours. The temperature that day had risen to more than 100 degrees, he said.

The city, however, charged Turner for moving city property.

During the bench trial Thursday, Judge Catherine M. Johnson listened to 90 minutes of testimony from five witnesses, including Turner, before South Salt Lake city prosecutor Paul Roberts, after hearing Turner's testimony, moved to have the case dismissed.

"I found him very credible," Roberts said. "In this case, it was just a miscommunication. I hadn't heard from his own mouth his own story. His testimony was very good. I didn't feel like he committed any crime."

In August, Turner had called South Salt Lake Animal Control to report a skunk problem. A skunk had been seen frequently in the area and eventually found its way into Turner's house through the cat door. The skunk got into a fight with a cat inside Turner's bedroom and sprayed the room.

The city told Turner that he could rent an animal trap for $50, which was refundable, if he wanted to set it up himself on his property — or the city could set up a trap on its property.

On Aug. 1 in the afternoon, a South Salt Lake Public Works employee set up an animal trap near a chain-link fence separating Turner's property and a parking lot area where the city stored equipment. "Sammy the Skunk," as he was dubbed by a defense lawyer, had been going back and forth between properties by going under the fence.

By late that night, Turner said he could hear that an animal was trapped. By Saturday afternoon, when no one had come back to check on the trap, Turner used a garden tool to reach over the fence, grab the handle and put the trap on his driveway in the shade.

Turner said he was trying to be humane and wanted to give the skunk some food and water and keep it out of the heat.