Interview Of Applicant For Wildlife Officer Position Leads To Vehicular Homicide Charge

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

Samuel Hoffer did not exactly get the position he was hoping for when he applied to be a Wildlife Enforcement Officer with the Muckleshoot Tribe. He is now facing charges for alleged Vehicular Homicide after a background interview was reportedly highlighted by his admission to a deadly drunk driving incident occurring in 2012.

This is the latest in a series of articles, HERE, and HERE, where applicants make career and freedom limiting moves by applying for law enforcement jobs and are subsequently jailed for providing incriminating evidence.

We now have another case of déjà vu all over again.

 

The 2012 incident unfolded when Mr. Hoffer and a passenger, Joseph Castro were travelling in the Mount Rainier National Park when Hoffer swerved to avoid colliding with a deer. Their truck left the travelled portion of the roadway and bounded down a steep embankment, mortally injuring Mr. Castro. Investigators believed the truck rolled twenty-five times during the accident. Hoffer stated then that Castro was in the back seat, alive but having breathing difficulty. Investigators however discovered Castro’s body three hundred feet from the vehicle and that he had perished.

Mr. Hoffer then walked several miles to a fire station to report the accident. Along the return trip he admitted to consuming one beer and blamed Castro for drinking the numerous beer cans ejected from the truck during the roll-overs.

At the time of the collision investigation, Mr. Hoffer was not charged with a crime.

Matters changed for the worse after Hoffer applied for a Wildlife Enforcement Position with the Muckleshoot Tribe. For conducting pre-employment background investigations, the Tribe contracted with a retired Pierce County deputy sheriff. During the examination, Hoffer reportedly admitted to being intoxicated at the time of the 2012 collision and that Castro was ejected from the vehicle, dying before rescue arrived.

Subsequently, Mr. Hoffer’s collision case was reopened and prosecutors formally charged him with Vehicular Homicide.

It seems his pursuit of a criminal justice career might have been temporarily set back, though if convicted he could still find employment–perhaps as a trustee with the Department of Corrections.

By Darren Smith

Source: KOMO News

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