Three men banned from Yellowstone because of  DUI sentences

JACKSON (WNE) — In separate cases just days apart, men from Ohio, Massachusetts and Michigan were sentenced to jail and probation after pleading guilty to driving under the influence in Yellowstone National Park. All three were banned from entering the park during their probation periods.

John M. Nofsinger, 31, of Ohio, appeared by phone Sept. 3 in U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming and admitted to driving with a blood alcohol content above the legal limit of 0.08 and refusing a blood-alcohol test following his arrest July 20, court records.

Magistrate Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick accepted his guilty pleas. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed three other counts.

Hambrick sentenced Nofsinger to seven days in jail, giving him credit for two already served.He was also placed on three years of unsupervised probation, court records say.

On Sept. 4, the court sentenced Michael J. O’Connell, 54, of Massachusetts, on similar charges. O’Connell pleaded guilty to DUI and refusing a breath test.

For the refusal, Hambrick imposed a seven-day jail term, giving O’Connell credit for one day already served. O’Connell was ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence immediately and was not released from custody after his hearing. He was also ordered to three years of unsupervised probation

Michigan resident Kyle M. Decare, 30, will spend a week behind bars and remain on probation for two years after admitting to driving drunk in Yellowstone while his license was suspended.

In a judgment filed Sept. 4, Hambrick sentenced him to seven days in jail on the DUI charge, with credit for two days already served. Decare was placed on two years of unsupervised probation.

DUI cases in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park fall under federal jurisdiction because the park is managed by the National Park Service. Unlike many state cases, federal DUI charges often carry mandatory jail sentences, probation and bans from the parks themselves.

This story was published on Sept. 11, 2025.