Wyoming News Briefs

Police seize 1,342 fentanyl pills

BUFFALO (WNE) — Johnson County law enforcement seized more than a thousand fentanyl pills and a handful of other drugs after a report of a suspicious vehicle in the Kum & Go parking lot in early January.

“We pulled over 1300 fentanyl pills, which is a big bust for Denver, let alone Buffalo,” Chief of Police Sean Bissett told the City Council after arresting two individuals.

In the car were 1342 fentanyl pills, 24 grams of methamphetamine and 54 grams of marijuana, among other things, according to court documents.

The vehicle’s two occupants, Lovell residents Robert Labbe and Elizabeth Davison, were arrested and now face various possession charges. The two were charged with felony possession of fentanyl, methamphetamine and marijuana in liquid form and misdemeanor possession of marijuana in plant form. 

The vehicle was brought to law enforcement’s attention by staff at Kum & Go, who said the vehicle had been parked next to the gas pumps for more than 30 minutes. When a police officer arrived, Labbe said he was waiting to find his debit card to buy gas, court documents state.

The officer determined that both Labbe and Davison — who was seated in the passenger side of the vehicle — had suspended licenses. Davison also had an active arrest warrant out of Natrona County. She was arrested without incident.

Court documents state that Labbe denied law enforcement’s request to search the vehicle, but a K9 unit brought to the scene alerted the officers to potential drugs. When law enforcement discovered the presence of fentanyl in the car, they arrested Labbe and transported the vehicle to the Johnson County Criminal Justice Center for a more thorough search.

At the justice center, law enforcement seized various baggies of fentanyl pills, methamphetamine, marijuana and liquid THC, as well as other drug paraphernalia.

Teton County coroner in court for barking dogs — again

JACKSON (WNE) — Teton County Coroner and hospital board member Dr. Brent Blue is back in court over doggie discord.

A breach of peace citation filed in Teton County Circuit Court said this was the 57th complaint against Blue for barking dogs since 2010. Wilson neighbors say Blue’s dogs have been disturbing the peace for nearly 30 years.

In his appearance in court Thursday, Blue pleaded not guilty through his lawyer, Richard Mulligan.

In a phone call with the Jackson Hole Daily, Blue reiterated that he pleaded not guilty and said, “I don’t know if it was my dogs.”

Blue said he plans to fight the charges.

The acrimony is not new for the neighbors or for the court. Blue pleaded guilty in May 2018 in Circuit Court to one count of breach of peace after neighbors claimed his dogs were outside barking continuously for hours.

Blue was sentenced to six months of unsupervised probation and ordered by Judge James Radda to do 50 hours of community service. As part of the 2018 plea agreement, Blue agreed to control his dogs and make sure they weren’t “outside barking for hours at a time.”

Michael Mellick, Blue’s closest neighbor, is listed as the complainant on the most recent citation. It’s not Mellick’s first time appealing to the court.

He spoke at Blue’s 2018 sentencing, saying that he just wants to live in peace and that Blue refused to do anything about the issue.

At Blue’s 2018 sentencing, Mellick said the dogs are aggressive and are constantly on his property growling at him and defecating in his yard.

Woman out $500 after scammer impersonated law enforcement

GILLETTE (WNE) — Two residents were called by the same scammer Wednesday afternoon, and one of them is out $500. 

At 2 p.m. Wednesday, a 54-year-old man reported getting a call from someone pretending to be Sgt. Taylor with the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect told the man that he had a warrant for failure to appear for jury duty, and requested the man pay $2700. The man did not send any money, Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson said. 

The man provided officers with the phone number, and when police called it, a male voice answered, identifying himself as Sgt. Taylor. The suspect hung up when he found out it was police, Wasson said.

At about 4:30 p.m., a 62-year-old man reported his wife, 68, was out $500 due to this scam. He said she got the call from a Sgt. Taylor, saying she had a warrant for failure to appear for jury duty and requesting $2700.

The woman told the suspect that she could not pay the full amount. He then asked her to pay $500 in gift cards, and she provided it, Wasson said.

The Campbell County Sheriff’s Office does not have a Sgt. Taylor, and it will not call people asking for money or threaten to arrest them over the phone. 

Wyoming saw job, payroll growth in third quarter of 2022

CHEYENNE (WNE) — From third quarter 2021 to third quarter 2022, Wyoming added 5,955 jobs (2.2%), and total payroll rose by $396.7 million (11.3%), according to a news release from the Department of Workforce Services.

Despite the recent job growth, employment has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels. Total employment in third quarter 2022 was down approximately 6,500 jobs from third quarter of 2019.

In third quarter 2022, the largest job growth occurred in mining, including oil and gas (1574 jobs, or 10.5%); leisure and hospitality (1232 jobs, or 3.0%), professional and business services (838 jobs, or 4.1%), retail trade (721 jobs, or 2.4%), and local government, including public schools, colleges and hospitals (584 jobs, or 1.4%).

Job losses were seen in state government (-283 jobs, or –2.3%), construction (-212 jobs, or -0.9%) and agriculture (-70 jobs, or –2.3%). Employment rose in 17 of Wyoming’s 23 counties.

Visit doe.state.wy.us/LMI/22Q3_QCEW/ toc.htm for detailed tables for each county.

City of Green River reports on recent deer count

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — According to city officials, the deer population within the city limits of Green River increased by 15 compared to last year.

Green River Chief of Police Tom Jarvie said several officers from the police department, Wyoming Game and Fish and volunteers did the visual count Thursday morning, Jan. 26. Crews surveyed eight different sections in Green River.

Based on their records, the following deer count is as follows throughout the last seven years: 2017 — 63; 2018 — 105; 2019 — 98; 2020 — 99; 2021 — 61; 2022 — 90; 2023 — 105.

The average over the past seven years is 88 deer.

According to Jarvie, vehicle crashes resulting from deer remain fairly low with only five such crashes reported to the police department during 2022.

Jarvie reminded residents that it is against city ordinance to feed deer. He noted that citations have been issued this past year. 

He also pointed out that the city tries to be consistent in the timing of the year and time of day when they do counts, but weather and the deer themselves can be variables.

The public works division is responsible for removing dead deer from the city and reports 30 carcasses were disposed of in 2022.

Dell Range shooting defendants head to trial in district court

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A Laramie County Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday that there is enough evidence from the recent Dell Range Boulevard shooting investigation for a criminal trial in district court.

Judge Sean Chambers made the decision following a preliminary hearing for the three co-defendants involved in the case and informed them the court found probable cause due to evidence presented by the state and testimony from Cheyenne Police Department Detective Alex Huff.

Tirso Munguia, 19, will stand trial after being charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of 16-year-old Triumph High School student Angelina Harrison. Evidence revealed he was in possession of the weapon when it went off, leading to the alleged accidental killing of Harrison on Jan. 9.

Munguia was sitting beside Cody Nicholson, 18, in the backseat of a vehicle driven by Sarah Heath, 26, on Dell Range Boulevard the night of the shooting. Harrison was sitting in the front passenger seat beside Heath and was struck by a bullet recovered from the front dashboard of the car.

One count of felony accessory after the fact to involuntary manslaughter was charged against Nicholson and Heath for separate reasons.

Nicholson was the owner of the firearm and fled the scene with the weapon following the shooting without contacting law enforcement, according to court documents and testimony.

Both teens were arrested and booked that night, and it wasn’t until 10 days later that Heath was also arrested as a suspect in connection with the shooting.

She was charged with accessory to the crime, three counts of furnishing alcohol to a minor and one count of possession of marijuana. 

The time and location of the three co-defendants’ trial has not been announced.

Former Jackson resident dies in Ukraine

JACKSON (WNE) — A former Jackson resident died in Ukraine Thursday, making him the seventh American to die in that conflict.

Pete Reed, 33, was working as a volunteer for Global Outreach Doctors in Bakhmut when his ambulance was shelled Thursday. The area is in eastern Ukraine, an area of heavy fighting since the Russian invasion.

Reed was a retired U.S. Marine who lived in Jackson and worked as a ski instructor at Snow King in the winter of 2012-13 and then Jackson Hole Mountain Resort during the winters of 2013-2015. He also worked as a day camp counselor for Teton County/Jackson Parks & Recreation from 2012-2014.

His work in Ukraine centered around evacuating and treating civilians. 

According to his profile on Global Outreach Doctors, Reed led medical teams with the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Iraqi Special Forces for the duration of the Battle of Mosul, treating over 10,000 trauma patients. 

During the battle, while still operating frontline clinics, Reed worked with others to found and serve as the president of Global Response Management. According to The Guardian newspaper, his patients ranged from 5 years old to the elderly.

Danielle Petriccione, who was Reed’s supervisor at the Jackson Hole Kids Ranch, described him as a “literal hero.”

“He went out in true Pete style,” she said, “trying to help someone else.”