A 37-year-old Maine resident was arrested on June 5th and returned to Yellowstone last week to face charges of trespassing on the Old Faithful thermal area and then failing to appear last year for his court hearing on the charges. Aaron Merritt ran out onto the thermal area and up to the geyser cone of Old Faithful multiple times while wearing a raccoon-skin hat and waving an American flag last July 7th.
When he failed to appear for his court hearing July 23rd, a warrant was issued for his arrest to appear before US Magistrate Judge Mark Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 days in prison,with credit for four days already served), fined $240 and banned from Yellowstone National Park for four years.
The Jackson Hole Radio staff has been covering news in Teton County, WY since 1963. Our editorial team is committed to providing readers, and listeners, with first-hand accounts of everyday life in one of America's most beautiful towns.
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