Wyoming News Briefs

Woman arrested for aggravated assault after allegedly hitting motorcycle with her car

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 63-year-old woman was arrested for aggravated assault after allegedly chasing a motorcycle throughout town and intentionally hitting it with her car Sunday afternoon.

She and a 53-year-old man have been in an ongoing dispute over the ownership of two motorcycles, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson. Sunday afternoon, the woman sat outside the man’s room at the Arrowhead Motel and waited for him to leave.

The man left his motel room and got on a black 2000 Suzuki motorcycle and drove off. The woman began following him in a 2004 Pontiac and chased him throughout town as he unsuccessfully tried to lose her, Wasson said.

The man stopped at a stop sign at Country Club Road and a frontage road leading to Walmart, then continued through the intersection. The woman ran through the stop sign and intentionally hit the back of the motorcycle with her car, causing the motorcycle to fall over, Wasson said.

The man had injuries to his hands, knees and elbows from the crash, which caused more than $1000 in damage to both vehicles.

The woman, Barbara Emerson, was arrested for aggravated assault. After she was arrested, she told officers she had meth in her bra, Wasson said. Detention officers found a bag with more than 3 grams of meth, and she also was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.

Elk antler poacher fined, loses hunting privileges for three years

JACKSON (WNE) — Just weeks before the legal antler hunt season on public lands opens May 1 for Wyoming residents and May 8 for others, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced stiff penalties against an antler poacher.

An Idaho man who illegally took elk antlers from the National Elk Refuge and Bridger-Teton National Forest and tried to sell them has been fined $6000, banned for three years from Wyoming public lands and lost all hunting privileges worldwide for three years, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a news release.

“The defendant pled guilty to a felony charge of the attempted transport and sale of more than 1,000 pounds of poached antlers, valued at roughly $18,000,” the release said. “Illegally collecting and selling antlers is a violation of the federal Lacey Act, which prohibits the transportation and sale of illegally obtained wildlife. The state of Wyoming also forbids offseason antler collection from public lands west of the Continental Divide.”

In Wyoming, antler collection is prohibited until May to protect winter-weakened wildlife from the stress of human presence. Antler collection is illegal at all times on the National Elk Refuge.

Fish and Wildlife worked the poacher case with the U.S. Forest Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. They announced the penalties with the hope of deterring others from flouting shed antler collection rules.

“These types of violations are an ongoing problem; as the market value of antlers keeps going up, we are experiencing more theft and trespassing on the Elk Refuge,” Fish and Wildlife’s David Bonham said in the release.

'Armed and dangerous' man with Gillette ties escapes custody in southeast Colorado

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man with ties to Gillette escaped custody from a hospital in La Junta, Colorado, last week and is still at large.

At 11:37 p.m. Thursday, Ronald Caillier, 38, escaped from the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center in La Junta following an altercation with a deputy. Caillier fled the scene from the emergency room despite being handcuffed with his hands in the front of his body, according to a Facebook post by the Bent County Sheriff’s Office.

La Junta is about 100 miles southeast of Colorado Springs. KKTV reported that as of Monday morning, Caillier was still on the run.

Caillier, who has ties to Gillette as well as Colorado Springs and Greeley, Colorado, is believed to be driving a white 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan with the Colorado license plate BFMW09. The minivan has damage to the passenger side door and a cracked passenger side rear-view window.

Authorities suspect the vehicle was stolen because the keys were left inside it. Furthermore, a 9mm handgun was underneath the driver’s seat. Caillier was wearing black and white striped pants and an orange t-shirt when he escaped.

The Bent County Sheriff’s Office believes Caillier is “armed and extremely dangerous.” It is strongly advised not to confront him if spotted. Instead, individuals are urged to contact local law enforcement immediately.

Caillier was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2015, 2017 and 2019 in Campbell County, and in March 2023, he pleaded guilty to interference with a peace officer.

In Bent County, Caillier was being held on charges of first-degree burglary and third-degree assault. He was at the hospital for a medical exam when he escaped.

Biden wins Wyoming Democratic presidential caucus

CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming Democrats have overwhelmingly chosen President Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee for president.

In preparation for the Democratic State Convention to be held on June 1 in Casper, each county held its own convention on Saturday to caucus for a preferred presidential candidate, elect delegates for the state convention and to adopt county platforms.

Biden won all but two of the Cowboy State’s 324 State Convention Delegates. David Michael Olscamp and Uncommitted each won one delegate.

Attendees across all 23 counties totaled 407 people — Sheridan County had the highest attendance with 58 people present while Lincoln County had no attendees.

Biden additionally secured 13 of the 17 National Convention Delegates.

In March, the Associated Press reported that Biden had clinched the nomination.

Speeding motorcycles cause crash that hospitalizes two

GILLETTE (WNE) — Two people were hospitalized after motorcycles racing through traffic led to a crash Thursday night.

A 20-year-old man was speeding north on South Douglas Highway on a sports bike. He was racing through traffic with another motorcycle, driven by a 17-year-old boy.

The man ran a red light at the intersection with Ninth Street and crashed into a 2006 Mazda, driven by a 39-year-old man who had the green light. The 20-year-old and his passenger, a 17-year-old girl, were thrown off of the motorcycle and ended up about 80 feet from the crash, Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson said.

They both were hurt and were taken to the emergency room. The driver of the Mazda also had minor injuries but refused treatment.

Melody Kimbrough, the mother of the 20-year-old, said her son suffered a skull fracture and brain bleeding, as well as a broken leg and a broken nose, and that he was flown to Billings, Montana, for further treatment.

Witnesses told police that the two motorcyclists were racing through traffic before the crash.

The estimated damage was more than $1000, and both the Kawasaki and the Mazda were towed from the scene, Wasson said.

The 17-year-old was ticketed for exhibition of speed, and the 20-year-old was ticketed for reckless driving, no insurance and not having a motorcycle endorsement.

Teton County Dems unanimously support Biden candidacy

JACKSON (WNE) — The Teton County Democratic Party was in total alignment at their convention held Saturday.

Twenty-two members in attendance unanimously decided President Biden would be their candidate preference choice when voting at the Wyoming Democratic Convention, along with the delegates they would send to the event in June in Casper.

Little to no discussion was needed.

State convention attendees will also have their hats thrown in the ring for the Democratic National Convention at the end of the summer, where they can confirm Biden as the national party’s choice.

After less than an hour in session, local Democrats walked out of the county commission chambers finished with their selections and a solidified 2024 Teton County Democratic Party platform.

The platform, which acts as a vision document, was just as easily agreed upon Saturday by the group. But there was time taken to discuss personalized additions to the platform in areas such as housing, education, immigration, the environment and climate change.

At the request of members, the Teton County Democratic Party added statements in support of students having access to nutritional meals all year round, recognizing that immigrants have a vital role in the Teton County economy and will continue to in the future, and that women should have access to obstetric care throughout the state no matter the circumstances.

Big Boy No. 4014 to embark on Westward Bound tour this summer

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Union Pacific’s famed Big Boy No. 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, will return to the rails this summer with a scenic tour across mountain ranges and high desert vistas in four western states: Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California.

Big Boy will journey from its home base in Cheyenne on June 30, en route to Roseville, California, before returning to Wyoming by the end of July.

It will make numerous whistle-stops in communities along the way, with public display stops scheduled July 12-13 in Roseville, California, and July 20-21 in Ogden, Utah.

Additional route details and approximate times for whistle-stops will be shared closer to the tour. A route map can be found on UPsteam.com.

This is one of two public tours planned for Big Boy in 2024, with a second tour planned this fall with stops in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Illinois, among other states. Details of the second tour will be released later this spring.

The month-long “Westward Bound” tour will honor Union Pacific’s rich railroad legacy and celebrate the railroad’s employees and communities it serves.

“The Big Boy locomotive symbolizes the pivotal role railroads played in shaping our nation’s history, and the technological advances we have witnessed within our industry,” said Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena. “We are thrilled to share this living piece of history with our employees and the public, and we love seeing the enthusiasm this locomotive generates wherever its whistle blows.”

Woman accused of dumping liquid meth into Pepsi, hiding meth in her body

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 43-year-old woman who was seen dumping liquid meth into a Pepsi bottle at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday was arrested for two counts of drug possession, after she also removed a baggie of crystal meth hidden in her body before being booked into jail.

Sheriff’s deputies stopped a 47-year-old man on the Interstate 90 westbound off-ramp near Skyline Drive for a license plate light not working. Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds said deputies saw the passenger, the woman, putting hypodermic needles in a mostly-full Pepsi bottle before they asked her to exit the vehicle.

The woman admitted to emptying her own liquid meth into the bottle, Reynolds said. She was arrested and deputies also found a bottle with synthetic urine inside the vehicle.

The male driver was ticketed for no proof of insurance and possessing equipment to defraud a urine test.

When deputies were driving the woman to jail, she told them she had crystal meth hidden inside her body, Reynolds said. At the jail, she removed a baggie totaling about 2.18 grams of meth with packaging.

The woman was arrested for felony possession of liquid meth for her third or subsequent offense and misdemeanor possession of crystal meth.

Cody man arrested for aggravated assault

CODY (WNE) — Cody resident Joseph T. King, age 31, was arrested on March 30 for allegedly assaulting his wife and neighbor.

Cody Police responded to a call of a domestic disturbance at the Shamrock Apartments on 29th Street and discovered a man lying unconscious on the ground, as well as an injured woman who was later identified as King’s wife. King, who officers said was yelling at the women present, was placed in handcuffs after a struggle.

After interviewing the adults present, the officers arrested King on suspicion of aggravated assault and battery, aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon and interference with a peace officer.

Both the domestic partner and daughter of the unconscious man told police at the scene that King hit him with a rock. Cody police officers told Circuit Court Judge Joseph Darrah that they found a “cantaloupe-sized” rock dislodged from its nearby landscaping a few feet from the unconscious victim.

Testimony from those at the scene said that all involved had been drinking that Saturday night.

The unconscious victim, neighbor Michael Martin, and King’s wife Erica Ward were both transported by ambulance to Cody Regional Health for their injuries. Martin regained consciousness en route to the hospital, according to arresting officer Daniel Fyne.

Martin was diagnosed with a skull fracture and brain bleed and Ward with a laceration requiring stitches.

Ward said that after being struck by King she had sought aid at Martin’s next-door apartment. Martin then went outside and became involved in the dispute with King. Ward said after the hearing that arguments between King and her were common.

King remains in custody at the county detention center on a $25,000 bond.