Wyoming News Briefs

Cheyenne police investigating fatal shooting late Saturday

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man was found dead Saturday night, an “apparent victim of multiple gunshot wounds,” the Cheyenne Police Department announced on Facebook Sunday morning.

The identities of the victim and the suspect have yet to be released; however, in a news release sent out Monday morning, the decedent was identified as a 38-year-old male.

“The preliminary investigation shows that a loud physical and verbal disturbance occurred between the 38-year-old man and a woman at the apartment earlier in the evening,” Monday’s news release read. “According to statements, the shooter, an upstairs tenant, heard yelling in the unit below. He armed himself with a handgun and went downstairs to intervene. While in the stairwell between both apartments, a disturbance occurred that resulted in the decedent being fatally shot.”

The release said other people were “in proximity of the gunfire,” but that no other injuries were reported.

CPD announced in the aforementioned social media post that a male suspect was detained in connection with the incident, but an official with CPD clarified that nobody had been arrested in connection with the incident as of Monday morning.

The incident occurred in the 1700 block of Oxford Drive, where CPD officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance around 11 p.m. on Saturday. Officers administered first aid to the victim; he was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene.

The CPD’s detective bureau is continuing to investigate the matter, the agency said, and information would be forwarded to the Laramie County District Attorney’s office for charging decisions.

Jury convicts Colorado trucker of killing Gillette family

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Denver truck driver has been convicted of causing a June 2022 crash on Interstate 25 in Colorado, killing five members of a Gillette family.

Jesus Puebla, who was 26 at the time of the crash, was convicted by a Weld County jury last week on five counts of vehicular homicide, as well as five additional counts which included vehicular assault, reckless driving and not having a valid driver’s license, KUSA-TV reported.

The trial began March 19, and he was found guilty of all 10 counts Wednesday, March 27.

Puebla’s sentencing is scheduled for June 21.

Halie Everts, Aaron Godinez and their 3-month-old daughter Tessleigh died in the crash June 13, 2022, along with Aaron’s parents Emiliano and Christina Godines, while they drove north back to Gillette after a weekend in Denver.

Puebla, behind the wheel of a truck carrying mail for the United States Postal Service, drove about 76 mph when he collided into a Ford Edge carrying the family, while the family moved at about 6 mph as traffic had backed up on the interstate, the Colorado news outlet reported.

His attorney blamed the crash on Caminantes Trucking, the company that owned the truck Puebla drove. Investigators with Colorado State Patrol determined that the truck was without working brakes.

Puebla drove recklessly miles before the crash and didn’t attempt to brake until ramming into the family’s vehicle, prosecutors argued.

“He did not brake until he hit this family,” said prosecutor Yvette Guthrie, KUSA-TV reported. “We know when he braked because there are skid marks. It’s that simple.”

Prosecutors also argued that Puebla’s commercial driver’s license had expired, and that he would have known the truck was unsafe to drive had he done a proper inspection.

Larry the Cable Guy named Stampede Parade grand marshal

POWELL (WNE) — Comedian, actor and former radio personality Larry the Cable Guy will be the star of the July 3-4 Cody Stampede Parades this year.

Nebraska native Daniel Lawrence Whitney, who has long gone by Larry the Cable Guy, his professional moniker first popularized as part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, was announced as this year’s parade grand marshal by the Cody Stampede Parade Committee along with the Cody Stampede Board.

Parade committee President Debbie Herman credited Ed Bednarz, general manager of the Cody Stampede Board, with roping in Whitney to come back to Cody.

“He’s been here in Cody before and he loves Cody,” Herman said, adding that when Whitney last came, he attended a rodeo and struck up a friendship with Bednarz.

“He was excited to come and be the grand marshal,” she said.

In fitting fashion, this year’s Stampede Parade theme is “Git – R – Done, in Western Style.”

Herman said while Larry the Cable Guy will ride in a wagon from Paradise Carriages pulled by draft horses, committee members are working on finding a vehicle like the tow truck from Whitney’s character Tow Mater in the “Cars” movies for the Kiddie Parade.

The parades run during the five-day rodeo extravaganza at the Cody rodeo grounds that is the annual Xtreme Bulls June 30 and then the Cody Stampede Rodeo July 1-4.

Rozet man dies in interstate rollover east of Gillette

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 35-year-old Rozet man died in a rollover on Interstate 90 at about 6 a.m. Saturday about ten miles east of Gillette.

Elvie Thomas, of Rozet, was driving a yellow 2006 Chevy Silverado east on the interstate when he swerved to the left and into the median, a Wyoming Highway Patrol press release said.

After hitting the median, Thomas then over-corrected to the right, which led the pickup truck to cross both interstate lanes into the right shoulder before rolling. Thomas was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the truck.

He was declared dead at the scene by Emergency Medical Services and the crash investigation continues, according to the press release.

BLM to hold two wild horse and burro adoption events in April

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Bureau of Land Management will hold two separate wild horse and burro adoption events in April.

The first event will have approximately 30 untrained horses up for adoption and sale at the Wheatland Off-Range Corral. The second event will be held at the Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility and have approximately 40 untrained horses and 10 untrained burros up for adoption.

The Wheatland event begins at 8 a.m. April 19, when animals can be previewed until the live competitive auction starts at 9 a.m. Remaining animals not selected during the adoption will be available on a first-come, first served basis for the standard adoption fee of $125. The event ends at noon.

The Wheatland Off-Range Corral is located at 1005 N. Wheatland Highway, approximately 12 miles north of Wheatland.

The Rock Springs event begins at 9 a.m. April 27 and ends at 3 p.m. Starting the following week, potential adopters can schedule appointments on Thursdays or Fridays. Contact the facility at 307-352-0292 to view available horses and burros.

The Rock Springs Wild Horse Holding Facility is located just off Lionkol Road. From I-80 in Rock Springs, take the Elk Street exit #104 and go north one mile. Turn right (east) onto Lionkol Road and go approximately one-half mile.

To qualify, adopters must be at least 18 years old and have facilities that meet the BLM’s requirements. Get your adoption application pre-approved and learn more about adoption requirements at wildhorsesonline.blm.gov.

Wild horses and burros for adoption were removed from overpopulated herds roaming Western public rangelands. As part of its efforts to find every animal a good home, the BLM offers up to $1,000 to adopt an untrained animal.

$58 million ranch north of Jackson sells

CASPER (WNE) — An iconic dude ranch north of Jackson listed for $58 million has sold — marking the sale of the most expensive home on the market in Wyoming.

The Grand View River Ranch, listed for sale in August, is 118 acres along the Gros Ventre River. The property lies between Grand Teton National Park and Bridger Teton National Forest, making it one of the few properties that lies within federal land.

The property has operated as a dude ranch for decades and includes pastures, a riding arena, hiking trails and fishing.

GVRR is composed of 24 buildings — a mix of houses and lodges for staff and the owner and nine lodges for up to 50 guests.

The sale of the ranch was made through an undisclosed buyer and the final sale price of the ranch is not publicly available, as Wyoming is one of 12 states where publishing a property’s sale price is not public record.

The property was originally homesteaded by William Smith in 1910, and he was given the property deed five years later. The property was later sold to William Woodward in 1920, then to John Barnes of Washington, D.C., in 1932 — who used it as a hunting camp.

Claude Wham, a cowboy, won the property from Barnes in a card game in 1944 but sold the property to his employers, brothers Roy and Reese Chambers, in 1959.

The Chambers used the property to access their Turpin and Ditch creek grazing allotments.

In the early 1960s, the road into the Gros Ventre area was improved and phone lines were constructed, allowing the Chambers to begin operating a dude ranch they called the Flying V. The current owners of the property purchased the ranch in 1986 and expanded the dude ranch to accommodate more guests and add amenities.

Gillette teen accused of sex crimes pleads not guilty to 22 charges

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette teenager accused of asking who he believed to be an 11-year-old boy for sex after teenagers created a fake Snapchat account they collected screenshots through now faces more than 20 charges in District Court.

Corbin T. Behnke, 18, pleaded not guilty last week at his arraignment in District Court to 18 felony and four misdemeanor charges ranging from stalking and promoting obscenity to attempted sexual exploitation of children and solicitation to commit exploitation of children, according to court documents.

He faces the following charges:

Seven counts of attempted sexual exploitation of children, felony (up to 12 years in prison, $10,00 fine)

Seven counts of solicitation to commit sexual exploitation of children, felony (up to 12 years in prison, $10,000 fine)

Attempted soliciting to engage in illicit sexual relations, felony (up to five years prison, $10,000 fine)

Three counts of sexual exploitation of children, felony (up to 10 years prison, $10,000 fine)

Stalking, misdemeanor (up to one year jail, $750 fine)

Attempting or promoting obscenity, misdemeanor (up to one year jail, $6,000 fine)

Promoting obscenity, misdemeanor (up to one year jail, $6,000 fine)

Bestiality, misdemeanor (up to one year jail, $1,000 fine)

A pre-trial conference is scheduled for July 1 with a jury trial to follow the week of Aug. 5.

Outgoing mail from Cheyenne will head to Denver first

CHEYENNE (WNE) — All of Cheyenne’s outgoing mail will be sorted in Denver in the future amid sweeping, nationwide changes in the United States Postal Service.

While USPS says this change will result in no layoffs and will save taxpayers money, it does nothing to alleviate some concerns community members and postal workers raised at a forum on the subject in December.

USPS announced the decision Thursday morning.

The Cheyenne Processing and Distribution Center will be converted to a “local processing center” in an effort to “modernize” the USPS, according to a news release.

No timeframe for the change — which is “under review” — has been announced, said James Boxrud, a strategic communication officer with USPS.

He estimated that 10% of the mail that enters the USPS system in the Cheyenne area has a final destination in the same area. For that reason, sorting would be more efficient for the entire postal network if Cheyenne mail was sent to Denver first, Boxrud said.

While that might mean a slightly longer wait time to get local mail, he added, the USPS will still meet its goal of 95% on-time delivery.

In Thursday’s news release, USPS also said there would be “no career employee layoffs.”

Boxrud was unable to comment on how many jobs would be shifted once the facility changes. He said Cheyenne employees will have priority consideration for reassignment when the changes solidify.

The USPS also announced that, once the conversion is implemented, “business mail entry, post office, station, and branch retail services are not expected to change.”

“I’m deeply concerned that processing Wyoming mail outside the state of Wyoming will delay the delivery of all mail,” Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray wrote in an email to the WTE. Gray said the shift will delay delivery of absentee ballots and thereby impede the integrity of elections.

Body of missing Gillette woman found Thursday, ending five-day search

GILLETTE (WNE) — The body of a woman who went missing Saturday in a harsh stretch of Campbell County south of Gillette has been found after dozens of people from multiple agencies spent days searching.

Tami Lynn Sturgeon, a 55-year-old Gillette woman, was found dead near a ravine Thursday at about 4:22 p.m., shortly after searchers discovered gloves and a cigarette butt they believe she had left behind, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday and the cause and manner of death have not yet been determined by Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem. Foul play is not suspected.

Sturgeon’s husband, 60, reported her missing at about 7 p.m. Saturday, and told investigators that he and his wife returned to the area to look for her lost cellphone after shed hunting there earlier that day.

The two walked in different directions while looking for the phone, and he ultimately reported her missing around nightfall. Deputies found Sturgeon’s cellphone Saturday night inside a side-by-side vehicle she and her husband had driven to the site that day, Reynolds said.

Winter weather entered the area that night, bringing low temperatures and snow which complicated the search.

The search area was in the vicinity of several open-pit coal mines south of Gillette, and railroad and coal mine workers had been told to look out for any signs of her.

“She was in a different area than we thought,” Sheriff Scott Matheny told the News Record.

Searchers and equipment from Crook, Johnson, Natrona, Sheridan, Washakie and Weston Counties took part in the multi-day effort, and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents provided phone location tracking and other assistance.

Matheny said this was among the most time and resource intensive searches in his decades with the sheriff’s office.

Weed and Pest District offers tips to guard against ticks

SHERIDAN (WNE) — With spring approaching, the Sheridan County Weed and Pest District urges residents and visitors to take steps to avoid tick bites and tick-borne diseases.

Ticks capable of transmitting Colorado Tick Fever are known to be present in Sheridan County, and residents are encouraged to be aware of the measures to protect themselves from exposure to ticks and potential bites.

In the U.S., more than 40,000 individuals are diagnosed with a tick-borne disease each year.

Pathogens that cause diseases such as Colorado Tick Fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and tick paralysis can be spread when an infected tick bites a host. Hosts include humans, pets and other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Simple steps to prevent tick bites include the following:

• Apply EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, Oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), Para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.

• Wear loose-fitting, long clothing including long sleeves and long pants. Tuck pants into socks for extra protection.

• Ticks live in grassy, brushy or wooded areas. Walk in the center of trails to prevent contact with ticks.

• Conduct a full body tick check after being outdoors.

• Showering within two hours of coming indoors can reduce the risk of tick-borne diseases by washing off unattached ticks, and it is a good time to conduct a tick check.

• Tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing.

• Talk to your vet about tick prevention products for your dog.

• Check your pets for ticks daily. Do not apply tick prevention products to your cat without first talking to your vet.

• Remove an attached tick as soon as possible to prevent or reduce pathogen transmission. Use fine-point tweezers to remove the tick in a steady motion then clean the area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.