Alleged Raccoon-Wrangling Ne’er-Do-Well Cowboy Draws Attention
“I’m a bartender, so you know I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my time … but nothing like this,” Mary Hafner, a bartender at an establishment in Murray, Kentucky, said to The New York Post.
The incident in question occurred on Friday, June 6, and the details have allowed for the tale to become a viral sensation, of sorts.
According to a Murray Police Department report, Jonathan Mason, 40, who is better known by locals as “Cowboy Cody,” was arrested after he “intentionally released a raccoon into an open business,” leading to one person being bit by the critter.
“Cowboy Cody” And His Critter Companion
Speaking with The Post, Mary noted that not only is “Cowboy Cody” banned from the bar she works at, called The Big Apple Grill and Bar, but she also said it was apparent that he had already been drinking before he arrived that evening.
She added that “Cowboy Cody,” who lives on a local farm and has earned a reputation for previous area bar antics, had “trapped a raccoon earlier in the day on his farm and he had been carrying it around with him.”
Because Mary knows “Cowboy Cody,” she says she decided to try to convince him to leave before calling the police, noting he was banned from the bar after a previous incident involving his mule.
When she approached him, she says he stated, “‘Oh, I see how it is, they sent a pretty face out here to distract me.'”
However, “Cowboy Cody” did listen to her, at first … but he didn’t stay gone.
Returning to the bar a few moments later, he then set the raccoon loose in the establishment.
“[The raccoon] was more scared than anything,” Mary said.
One of her co-workers attempted to capture the raccoon, grabbing it by the tail, but the raccoon then bit her co-worker, who was later administered a rabies shot.
Using a towel, Mary was able to corner the critter and return it to the outdoors, adding, “I’m no city slicker. I’m a Kentucky girl. I had no problem catching him.”
Receiving a report of a disturbance, MPD arrived at The Big Apple Grill and Bar at 9:18 p.m., but “Cowboy Cody” had already left the premises.
Officers caught up with “Cowboy Cody,” who was driving, and initiated a traffic stop. When he allegedly refused to roll down his window or exit the vehicle, officers were compelled to forcibly remove him.
Charges Leveled Against “Cowboy Cody”
Transported to the Calloway County Jail, Jonathan Mason, aka “Cowboy Cody,” was charged with the following:
- Second-degree assault;
- Third-degree criminal trespassing;
- Resisting arrest; and
- Failure of owner to maintain required insurance.
However, this is not the first time “Cowboy Cody” has been charged.
On December 7, 2024, an incident at another local bar, Tap 216, also led to him being arrested.
Riding his mule 15 miles into town, reportedly in an effort to “break him in,” it was noted by a witness that he had allegedly already been drinking that day.
Upon entering the bar, “Cowboy Cody” allegedly began “whipping a bullwhip” at other patrons. When he was asked to leave, he refused.
When MPD responded to the scene, he was arrested and charged with:
• Second-degree disorderly conduct;
• Alcohol intoxication in a public place;
• Third-degree criminal trespassing;
• Resisting arrest; and
• Second-degree cruelty to animals.
Local 12 reported that he was released after posting bond, and was “ordered to stay away from the mule and the bar.”
A witness to his ride into town was also quoted in court documents, which were seen by FOX 56, saying, “The more [he] becomes intoxicated, the worse his treatment of horses becomes.”
Local animal control found that his mule was “around 100 pounds malnourished.”
His saga in December did not end there, as MPD responded on December 9, 2024, to “reports of an intoxicated man riding a mule” near “Cowboy Cody’s” farm.
There, he was allegedly seen “galloping down the road and tipping his hat to bystanders” as he passed.
“Cowboy Cody” allegedly rode away from officers on the mule, but was eventually detained, leading to him being charged again with second-degree cruelty to animals, as well as third-degree fleeing or evading police.
A FOX 56 video of his December 7, 2024, arrest can be seen here, mule and all: