Biography
William James Viehl, age 23, pleaded guilty to AETA charges for the 2008 release of approximately 650 mink from a fur farm in South Jordan, Utah. Sentenced to 24 months federal prison plus $66,753 restitution.
The Tenth Circuit’s Halliday opinion identifies the related Utah mink-farm prosecution and reports an imposed 24-month sentence, with Viehl and Hall jointly and severally responsible for $66,753 restitution. The opinion uses these sentences as a comparison in Halliday’s appeal; it supplies no new admission, physical release or completed-service interval for this defendant. Source: https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca10/10-4200/10-4200-2011-12-16.pdf?ts=1411092308#page=10
Photograph and custody phases verified October 12, 2026: The March 7, 2009 Deseret News report expressly captions the original photograph William Viehl; the adjacent Alex Hall image is not used. Credit Deseret News, photographer unspecified, no open-license claim. Denver ABC's named support record establishes March 5 arrest, March 12 bail, and return to jail in early July 2009. In ALF Supporters Group's December 2010 newsletter, pages 9 and 14, Viehl's September 12 letter describes the September 23 transfer to mandatory halfway-house residence, and the retrospective editorial heading confirms that transfer occurred. September 23 ends the prison phase, not all custody. The unsupported March 3 start and January 1 release placeholder are superseded; final halfway-house discharge remains unresolved.
Underlying action year and court chronology
The original federal order identifies the underlying McMullin mink-farm incident as August 19, 2008, distinct from the March 4, 2009 indictment and subsequent prosecution. It records Viehl's September 2, 2009 guilty plea to Count I, Judge Dee Benson and government counsel John Huber. The November 12, 2009 hearing was adjourned rather than a completed sentencing; the later December 11 hearing concerned his reassignment motion, which was denied in an order signed January 11, 2010 and filed January 12. These dates are not new physical-custody endpoints.
The court discusses a request for credit for earlier restrictive home-release conditions, and a June 2009 footnote describes a revocation without a precise admission day. This ambiguous summary does not replace the separately sourced July return-to-jail record, create continuous imprisonment during bail, or prove a final halfway-house discharge. The court describes 500 mink released, while other existing reporting estimates approximately 650; the differing estimates are preserved rather than silently treated as identical. No new actual-duration total is inferred from the prosecutor's rounded four-and-a-half-month argument.
United States v. Viehl, Document 88, original pages 1–6 and 9–10.
