Wyoming News Briefs

Gillette man arrested after stealing grandfather’s truck and guns and kicking deputy

GILLETTE (WNE) — An 18-year-old man was arrested Sunday morning on a number of felony charges, including aggravated burglary, theft and interference.

A 39-year-old woman said she was checking on her 67-year-old father’s home in the 1600 block of Shadetree Avenue when she discovered his truck, a 2017 Chevy truck, was missing. She learned that her 18-year-old son, Kolton Coleman, had the truck after he posted a picture on Snapchat of him inside it.

Coleman did not have permission to enter his grandparents’ home or take the truck, Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson said.

Coleman also was seen driving his grandmother’s vehicle on Friday. He also did not have authority to drive that vehicle.

The grandparents reported that two guns that were supposed to be in the home were also missing and there were indications that Coleman had been staying in the home, possibly with friends, Wasson said.

The truck was found in the 300 block of East Sinclair Street.

Sheriff’s deputies helped police officers find Coleman, who admitted to taking his grandfather’s truck and gun. 

When they went to arrest him, he tried to run away but was caught shortly after. He continued to resist arrest and kicked a deputy, Wasson said.

A baggie with about an ounce of marijuana fell out of his pocket during the arrest. The two missing guns were found in the truck.

Coleman was charged with aggravated burglary for stealing the guns, felony theft and unauthorized use for stealing the truck, felony interference with an officer, criminal entry for going into his grandparents’ home without permission and possession of a controlled substance, Wasson said.

Woman faces vehicular homicide charges following fatal accident

CODY (WNE) — A Cody woman has been charged with homicide by vehicle for the death of Dominic Gibson, 24, who was struck on Aug. 2 by the woman’s rental van while he was riding his motorcycle east on Greybull Highway.

Shobhana Raghavendra Rao, 63, was charged on Oct. 31 and charged on Nov. 2 in Park County Circuit Court.

According to the affidavit, on Aug. 2, Rao had pulled up to the stop sign to turn left from Meeteetse Highway onto Greybull Highway. 

Rao was driving a 2022 Chrysler Pacifica with Florida plates with four passengers, while Gibson was riding a 1984 Honda Acro 125 motorcycle, the affidavit said.

“Rao stated she didn’t notice anybody coming towards her when she began to conduct her left-hand turn,” Wyoming State Trooper Brett Tillery wrote in the affidavit. “She added that out of nowhere the motorcycle was coming towards her and that it was coming at her extremely fast.

“She said she tried to avoid the motorcycle but it was too late,” Tillery also wrote in the affidavit.

Two witnesses driving behind Gibson said “they noticed . . . vehicle 2 [Gibson] activated its brakes causing smoke to come from the tire area,” the affidavit said. “As vehicle 1 [Rao] collided with vehicle 2, Gibson was ejected ... and went airborne. Gibson did a forward flip in the air and landed on his head.”

“[The witnesses] stated [Gibson]…[was] traveling approximately 50 to 55 miles per hour in a clearly posted 55 mph speed zone,” the affidavit said.

Around 1:40 p.m., Gibson was airlifted from the Cody hospital to Billings Clinic Hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on Aug. 3.

“Rao failed to wait and yield to Gibson, who had the right of way,” Tillery wrote in the affidavit.

Man shot and hospitalized Monday morning

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who was shot in the abdomen Monday morning at the Howard Johnson hotel has been taken to the hospital for treatment.

The man’s identity and age were not released by police and detectives remain at the scene of the shooting.

Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson declined to comment on whether there are suspects at this time and said police believe there is no threat to the public.

Police officers responded to a report of “a man being shot” at the Howard Johnson Hotel at about 5 a.m. Monday.

Sheriff Scott Matheny said that deputies helped officers with a perimeter check and left when they were no longer needed.

The police investigation continues.

Man pleads guilty to delivery of methamphetamine

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Nathaniel Sullinger, 19, changed his plea in 4th Judicial District Court Thursday. 

Sullinger was charged with one count of delivery of methamphetamine and one count of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, both felony charges, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine totaling up to $25,000 or both. 

On March 11, Sullinger delivered methamphetamine to Nichole Patterson, who died later that evening from a drug overdose. 

According to Sheridan County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher LaRosa, Patterson’s text message records — which confirmed the sale of methamphetamine by Sullinger — indicated she was intending to get sober and had recently completed a substance abuse treatment program.

As a condition of a plea agreement reached by Sullinger and the state, the state would dismiss count two of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine if Sullinger would plead guilty to count one, delivery of methamphetamine. 

Sullinger accepted these terms and pleaded guilty to delivery of methamphetamine.

Fourth Judicial District Court Judge Darci Phillips accepted the proposed change of plea. 

The court scheduled Sullinger’s sentencing hearing for Jan. 24, 2023, starting at 9 a.m. in 4th Judicial District Court in Sheridan County. 

Texas man killed in head-on crash north of Gillette

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 33-year-old man from Texas was killed in a head-on crash north of Gillette Wednesday evening.

A large white box truck, driven by a 37-year-old man, collided with a 2018 Ford F-150 Raptor, driven by the 33-year-old man, said Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds.

The Sheriff’s Office received multiple 911 calls of a traffic crash on North Highway 59. Deputies responded to the accident, which was near mile marker 139, about 23 miles north of Gillette.

The box truck, which had heavy front-end damage, was in the southbound lane. The Ford Raptor was in a ditch on the east side of Highway 59, about 150 yards from the box truck, Reynolds said.

The Ford had extensive damage to the front driver’s side. Three people had stopped to help before officers arrived, but they didn’t see the accident, Reynolds said.

Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem said the driver of the Raptor, Aaron Foster, died immediately in the crash from blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol took over the scene and is investigating the cause of the crash.

Gov. Gordon’s chief of staff retiring; replacement named

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon announced a change to his leadership team Thursday, as current Chief of Staff Buck McVeigh will retire at the end of the year. To take his place, Gordon has named Sen. Drew Perkins, R-Casper, his new chief of staff. 

McVeigh served as the governor’s policy director before becoming chief of staff in June 2019. His 36-year career with the state of Wyoming began in 1980 with the Department of Agriculture, and included positions in the Department of Administration & Information, the State Auditor’s Office and the Public Service Commission, along with the Governor’s Office. 

McVeigh was a longtime member and 14-year executive branch co-chairman of the state’s Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CREG). He also served as executive director of the Wyoming Taxpayers Association for five years. 

“Having been given the opportunity to serve as Governor Gordon’s chief was truly the honor of a lifetime for me,” McVeigh said in a news release. 

McVeigh will finish the year as chief of staff and then be replaced by Drew Perkins, who was a state senator from Natrona County until announcing his resignation Thursday. 

Perkins has represented District 29 in the Wyoming Senate since 2007, serving as Senate president, vice president and chair of the Joint Appropriations Committee. 

He comes to the Governor’s Office after working as an attorney in private practice for more than 30 years. 

He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming School of Law and earned an M.S. in Taxation from Southeastern University (Washington, D.C.) and a B.S. in Accounting from Brigham Young University.

Texas man arrested Wednesday morning after robbing First National Bank

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 33-year-old Texas man was arrested after robbing a Gillette bank Wednesday morning.

At 9:07 a.m., a robbery was reported at the south branch of First National Bank, in the 2400 block of South Douglas Highway.

As officers were responding to the bank, someone else called to report that he followed the suspect, who was in a silver Ford Mustang. The Mustang had just gotten onto Interstate 90 off of Highway 59 and was headed east, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.

Campbell County Sheriff’s deputies and Wyoming Highway Patrol responded and stopped the Mustang at 9:28 a.m. 

They spoke to the driver, Preston Selph, who was the only person in the car. He was found to have $2000 in cash and a note that was passed to a bank teller during the robbery, Wasson said.

The note implied that Selph was armed, but he did not display a gun during the robbery and no gun was found in the car, Wasson said. 

Wasson said Selph did not lead law enforcement on a chase. He stopped when he was told to stop and was arrested for robbery.

WHP to study speed data in investigation of Grand Teton vehicle fatality

JACKSON (WNE) — The Wyoming Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal crash in Grand Teton National Park that killed a visitor.

An Australian couple was driving north in the park to visit Oxbow Bend around 11 a.m. Tuesday when they changed plans.

“They determined that the roads were too treacherous and didn’t want to continue,” said state Trooper Adam Johnson, who responded to the collision.

The Toyota Highlander had stopped in the highway to turn left into Teton Point Turnout so the couple could turn around and head back to Jackson. A semi truck driver also traveling north saw the SUV stopped from about a quarter mile away, but as he tried to slow down on the icy road, the truck couldn’t stop, and it rear-ended the SUV, Johnson said.

“Frankly, it’s a semi truck and it takes significantly more time and space to slow down,” Johnson said. “In this case, they couldn’t even stop because the roads were so slick.”

Both SUV occupants were injured and taken by ambulance to St. John’s Health. Pamela Paltridge, of Australia, died as a result of her injuries, Grand Teton said in a Wednesday news release. Her husband, who was driving the SUV, was treated and released.

The semi driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions, Johnson said.

In any commercial trucking investigation, Highway Patrol investigates whether impairment or fatigue were factors. Neither was in this case, he said. 

The South Dakota-based Zubke Trucking log books for the driver showed complete compliance with regulations meant to prevent driver fatigue, he said.

The WHP will be downloading electronic data from both vehicles Friday to further detect vehicle speeds involved in the crash, he said.

Big Horn County deals with bats in courthouse

GREYBULL (WNE) — County maintenance supervisor Jeremy Pouska approached the Big Horn County commissioners at their Nov. 1 meeting regarding bat issues in the courthouse attic.

He investigated the cost of spray insulation like what was used at the multipurpose building at the fairgrounds. This would fill all the cracks so the bats couldn’t get in. 

The quote he received was just over $49,000.

He had not yet received a quote for a company to bring in a vacuum trailer to suck out all the contaminated insulation and the bat guano in the attic. 

He was directed to get a quote for this and bring it back to the commissioners.

Wyoming Sugar Company pleased with this year’s beet crop

WORLAND (WNE) — The 2022 sugar beet harvest has been called a success by Wyoming Sugar Company and its growers. 

Despite a late planting due to weather conditions in the spring, just under 360,000 tons of beets were harvested from 11,149 acres and brought to Wyoming Sugar for processing. 

Other than a few smaller growers who got their beets in later, the majority of the crop was harvested and transported by Oct. 24. 

Wyoming Sugar President and CEO Mike Greear said that favorable weather assisted them in a smooth harvesting process and allowed growers to take all Sundays off from working this harvest season. 

The average sugar content for this crop of beets was 18.16%, which is considered low by industry standards. 

Despite this, Greear was happy with the results of this years’ harvest. 

“We didn’t quite get to our five-year average for sugar content, but overall it was a good crop,” he said. 

Sugar beet production is a longstanding agricultural practice in the region, and according to its website, a large portion of beets grown in the southern Bighorn Basin and Fremont County are processed at Wyoming Sugar Company in Worland. 

This factory is owned by local growers and has been processing sugar beets into refined sugar for over 100 years.

EV chargers coming to Yellowstone, Grand Teton gateways

JACKSON (WNE) — Eastern Idaho’s Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative will install five strategically placed Level 3 electric car charging stations along two significant scenic byways, with construction starting in the spring of 2023.

The fast chargers will be placed in Ashton and Island Park, Idaho — two cities along the Mesa Falls Scenic Byway — with another station in Driggs, Idaho, along the Teton Scenic Byway. 

Both areas are considered gateways to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.

With Level 3 charging — also known as DC fast charging — motorists can charge an electric vehicle battery to 80% in as few as 20 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. 

The project is being funded with $900,000 in grants from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

The effort is part of the launch of ChargeWest, an intermountain collaborative committed to improving electric corridors across the western United States. The West Electric Highway interstate partnership, as part of the ChargeWest collaborative, will run through eight western states including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah in an effort to build infrastructure for rural gateway communities, state and national parks, monuments, recreation areas and scenic byways through public-private partnerships.

“We see a lot of vacation travelers coming to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and they come through our service territory to get there,” said Clint Washburn, the Fall River co-op’s human resources manager who applied for the grants on behalf of Fall River. “We just see there’s a huge need for it. I think there are a lot of travelers who don’t bring their EVs now because of the lack of chargers.”