Wyoming News Briefs

Police arrest man known for harassing people at Cheyenne businesses

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Laramie County Sheriff ’s deputies arrested a 42-year-old man known locally for harassing and “hexing” business owners on June 20 for trespassing.

On the day of Joshua Hayden-Ali’s arrest, Deputy Aaron Veldheer responded to a disturbance in progress at the Safeway supermarket at 700 South Greeley Highway. The description of the man matched that of Hayden-Ali.

Veldheer spoke with the woman who said Hayden-Ali had been threatening her. She told Veldheer that Hayden-Ali had been threatening to kill her and her family because he believed her to be the person that got him banned from the store.

After canvassing the area, Veldheer was unable to locate Hayden-Ali.

“Hayden-Ali is well known to peace officers in Laramie County,” according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in circuit court. “He frequently walks around governmental buildings with a large staff or walking stick, including the Laramie County Sheriff ’s Office. At times, he will act like the staff is a rifle and simulate shooting people walking or in vehicles.”

Sheriff ’s office and Cheyenne Police Department records confirmed that Hayden-Ali had been contacted by CPD for breaching the peace and trespassing.

He has nine criminal trespassing warnings within the city of Cheyenne and an additional nine warnings on South Greeley Highway between Interstate 80 and College Drive. He also has four convictions for breach of peace, a protection order, family violence protection order and violations of city of Cheyenne municipal ordinances.

Another deputy eventually found Hayden-Ali and took him into custody on charges of criminal trespass and breach of peace.

Hayden-Ali has been issued a criminal trespassing warning by the sheriff ’s office which is effective until Sept. 16, 2031.

Woman finds home burglarized, shaving cream and lotion smeared on walls

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 40-year-old woman came home Friday night after being away since April to find that someone had come into the house through the window, damaged some of her belongings and taken items.

She called police to clear the scene, and they found nobody inside of her home on Sierra Circle, Police Deputy Chief Brent Watson said.

The burglar had smeared cooking oil, shaving cream and lotion on the walls in almost every room. Food had been taken from the fridge, and a TV and photos were found broken.

A TV, tools, welding equipment, decoration, clothes and jewelry had all been taken from the home. The power had also been cut, causing the food in the fridge to spoil.

The total damage is worth more than $1000, as well as the stolen property. There is no current suspect, and the investigation continues.

Judge won’t reduce sentence for man who killed baby

POWELL (WNE) — A Powell man has been ordered to keep serving 32-39 years in prison for killing his infant child and, in a separate incident, sexually abusing a teenager. Jason Getzfreid accepted the prison time last year as part of an agreement with prosecutors, but recently asked for a reduction.

However, Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson declined to lower the sentence for the “severe, horrendous crime.”

“I’m going to hold you to your agreement,” Simpson told Getzfreid at a brief hearing last month. “It is part of the punishment. It’s part of your acknowledgement as to what you did, and for the crime you must pay.”

Getzfreid, 30, is serving two separate sentences for two separate crimes.

The first occurred in August 2020, when the then-26-year-old took “immodest, immoral or indecent liberties” with a 15- or 16-year-old girl. Getzfreid struck a deal with prosecutors to serve two to four years in prison, but while out on bond and awaiting sentencing, he committed a more serious offense.

On an early morning in August 2021, court records say Getzfreid became frustrated with his 4-month-old daughter, Rune, and shook her. He quickly took the child to the hospital, but the injuries he’d inflicted proved fatal.

In April 2023, Getzfreid pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and accepted a 30- to 35-year sentence, which was added to the time for third-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

Getzfreid said he’s been using his time behind bars as productively as he can — seeking out resources and working to better himself; he said that process is “something that’s going to be lifelong.” “… especially what happened to my daughter, to my child, it’s something that’s gonna be following me for the rest of my life and it’s gonna affect me for the rest of my life,” Getzfreid said at a June 21 hearing.

The Sheridan Press names community room after Moats

SHERIDAN (WNE) — The Sheridan Press office dedicated its newly available community room by honoring its namesake June 26.

The Moats Community Room is a conference room available for rental in The Sheridan Press building. The room itself served as the publisher’s office for decades before being remodeled into a conference room available for rent by anyone in the community for a variety of uses.

The room was named after retired journalist and attorney Bruce Moats, who led The Sheridan Press to a Deming Cup — which recognizes the top daily newspaper in the state of Wyoming — before becoming an attorney and serving the Wyoming Press Association.

Moats represented multiple state newspapers in lawsuits to fight for transparency of public agencies.

Before the room dedication, Moats and his wife, Cec — also a former Press photographer and Wyoming Press Association employee — trained current Press staff on public records and open meetings laws.

Details emerge about Fremont Canyon fatality

CASPER (WNE) — Details have begun to emerge in the death last week of Eric Blevins, 65, of Pueblo, Colorado, who lost his life while operating an excavator during an engineering job at the Fremont Canyon Power Plant near Alcova.

Blevins was working to replace a series of five rockfall mitigation nets slung along the canyon walls above the Fremont Canyon Power Plant.

The 30-foot-deep, 50-foot-wide nets hang from cemented bolts at staggered elevations and are meant to prevent rockfall damage to plant infrastructure. After more than 60 years in service, they were due for replacement, but not a single net had yet been replaced when the Natrona County Sheriff’s Department received an emergency call about an excavator accident in the canyon.

A Natrona County Fire District squadron arrived around 10:30 a.m. and rapidly drew up a “low angle, rope rescue” plan, according to Leighton Burgen, fire engineer and information officer with the fire district.

“They were able to climb up to the individual using a manlift and some climbing gear. The individual was pronounced deceased on the scene,” Burgen told the Star-Tribune.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which could not be reached for comment.

In 2023, the Reclamation Bureau solicited proposals to replace the nets, and of two submissions it selected engineering firm Geovert, who then subcontracted Eric Bevins as the lead.

Eric Blevins leaves behind a wife, three children and six grandchildren.

Gillette girl dies Thursday after being run over by ATV

GILLETTE (WNE) — A six-year-old Gillette girl died Thursday afternoon after she was run over by an ATV, and Wyoming Highway Patrol is currently investigating.

At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, deputies responded to the area of Gold Buckle Place and Highway 51, between Gillette and Rozet, for a report of a child that was run over by an ATV, said Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds.

When they arrived, they began lifesaving measures on the girl. EMS showed up and took her to the hospital where she was officially pronounced dead, said Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem.

The girl, Elizabeth C. Garner, died from multiple blunt force traumatic injuries, Wallem said.

The ATV was being driven by another child, Reynolds said, but the deputy’s report was not clear on the age or gender of the driver. Wallem said there was a lot of confusion and panic from multiple 911 calls.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol is investigating to figure out what happened leading up to the girl’s death.

Second minor pleads not guilty in slaying of Casper teen

CASPER (WNE) — Dominique Antonio Richard Harris, accused in the killing of Dean Morgan Middle School schoolmate Bobby Maher, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of conspiracy to commit first degree murder.

It’s the latest development in one of the state’s most closely watched criminal proceedings, and comes five days after Harris’ alleged accomplice, Jarreth Joseflee Sabastian Plunkett, pleaded “not guilty by reason of mental illness.”

Harris, born in 2008, is alleged to have facilitated the crime by slamming Bobby Maher, 14, to the ground and striking him in the face in the moments before he was stabbed in the parking lot of Casper’s Eastridge Mall, according to the police affidavit.

The April 7 slaying made headlines around the globe, shook a community and set off calls for reform — all while bringing fresh attention to some of the damning realities of youth challenges in the Cowboy State, including its place as the state with the highest per-capita youth incarceration rate in the nation.

During his arraignment at the Natrona County Courthouse in Casper, Harris also pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault and theft.

The trial is set for Sept. 23.