Wyoming News Briefs

Man sought in Mississippi murder found in Shoshoni

CASPER (WNE) — Shoshoni police on Saturday apprehended a man wanted for murder in Mississippi after learning he’d been living in a local motel. 

Kingduron Pyle Jr., was taken into custody late Saturday after he tried to flee from authorities, Shoshoni Police Chief Christopher Konija said in a statement. He was taken to Fremont County Detention Center. 

Pyle, 19, is wanted in connection to the Nov. 1 murder of Shad Reese in Columbus, Mississippi, according the Facebook page of the police department there. 

Authorities located Pyle after responding to a minor altercation in Shoshoni. During that investigation, police learned that a man wanted for murder in Mississippi was living at the Shoshoni Motel. 

Konija asked for help from the Fremont County Sheriff ’s Office, and authorities created a perimeter around the motel while investigating, Konija said in a statement. 

Officers found a photo of Pyle on the Columbus Police Department Facebook page, and various witnesses told them that person was living at the motel. They also found a recent article on the murder. 

When authorities tried to contact Pyle, they spotted a man running from the back of the motel, according to the statement. He was detained after a short foot chase. 

Police in Mississippi believe Reese was meeting with Pyle to illegally buy a gun prior to the shooting, according to The Dispatch, a newspaper in the area. 

Reese, 23, was found dead in a car in Columbus early on Nov. 1. Reese was found in the driver’s seat, according to Columbus police.

Man sentenced to prison in girlfriend’s stabbing

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man who stabbed his then-girlfriend, resulting in severe blood loss, was sentenced to at least a quarter century behind bars Friday in Laramie County District Court.

District Judge Peter Froelicher sentenced Anthony Brassard to 25 to 35 years in prison. 

Brassard pleaded no contest in August to attempted second-degree murder as part of a plea agreement. 

Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove said during Brassard’s change-of-plea hearing that there was no doubt of his intent when he stabbed the victim. Manlove said photos from the scene were “horrific,” showing the large amount of blood lost by the victim. 

Making a statement during the hearing, the victim said she never expected to be betrayed in this way by someone who claimed to care about her. She said she lives in constant fear that something similar will happen to her again, or to someone she loves. 

The woman said she lost the person she used to be when Brassard tried to kill her, and she still has physical issues as a result of her severe injuries. 

“Please don’t make my survival worthless,” she said, addressing the judge.

Additional charges of felony interference with a peace officer (with injury), misdemeanor interference with a peace officer (resisting) and misdemeanor unlawful contact (touch) were dismissed at sentencing, per the plea agreement.

More than 200 pounds of pot, THC wax seized in stop

GILLETTE (WNE) — A random traffic stop south of town led to Sheriff’s deputies seizing more than 200 pounds of suspected marijuana and THC wax.

A 43-year-old California man was arrested Thursday afternoon on two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Deputies estimate the combined street value of the seized drugs is about $2 million.

Brett Vaniderstine was driving a white 2019 Nissan Pathfinder on Highway 50. Sheriff’s Deputy Derek Lang caught him speeding 74 mph in a 70 mph zone near Lewis Road, about 10 miles south of Gillette.

Lang said the man’s behavior led him to investigate further.

“It was a random stop, and [Lang] saw indicators, and he called me,” said Deputy Trevor Osborne.

“He was very nervous. His travel plans didn’t make sense. He said he was returning a rental [car] from California to his friend in Wisconsin,” Lang said.

The man handed Osborne a vape cartridge with THC oil in it. He said that this was the reason he’d been acting nervous, and that he wasn’t under the influence and that he didn’t have anything else in the car, Osborne said.

“I went back and explained to him we’re going to be searching his vehicle,” Osborne said.

He was arrested on two felony possession charges and taken to the Campbell County jail. He was traveling with his 11-year-old son, who was placed in the care of the Department of Family Services.

First agreement reached in separation of Gillette, Sheridan colleges

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Northern Wyoming Community College District Board of Trustees approved two significant action steps toward its separation from Gillette College during its regular meeting Tuesday night.

Trustees voted to approve a universal memorandum of understanding between NWCCD and Gillette Community College District as well as an agreement to transfer funds and debt to GCCD.

The documents were created by a joint transition team comprised of three trustees from each district and their respective college presidents. The MOU provides a framework to aid in the process of separation and outlines how agreements on topics such as indebtedness, insurance and employees, among other items, will be documented during the transition period.

As new agreements are reached, they will be added to the MOU and ratified by NWCCD and GCCD. The Wyoming Community College Commission will then review the agreements.

“This milestone is significant because we’re creating the structures that will help us move forward expeditiously but with proper consideration given to each item,” NWCCD President Walt Tribley said.

Trustees approved the first agreement Tuesday, which transfers the balance of funds given to NWCCD in support of Gillette College by the city of Gillette and Campbell County 1% funding ($271,818.02), the Campbell County Board of Cooperative Higher Education Services ($335,535.19), a bookstore fund balance ($65,070.99) and a state matching fund ($207,143) totaling $879,567.20.

“This money was earmarked to be used for Gillette College and gives GCCD the operating budget it needs to move forward with other necessary action steps in the process of becoming its own independent district, such as hiring employees,” Tribley said.

The approved agreement also transfers the debt on Inspiration Hall, the newest residence hall on the Gillette College campus.

Woman arrested in incident involving Fremont County vehicle’s lights and siren

SHERIDAN (WNE) — A Riverton woman was arrested last week for driving under the influence of alcohol after police saw her “playing with the lights” and sirens of a Fremont County owned vehicle parked in the 400 block of East Fremont Avenue.

Officials said they noticed the “weird behavior” at about 1 a.m. Thursday, when a police officer saw two people inside of the EMS supervisor vehicle – a white Ford Expedition owned by Fremont County.

The individuals were turning the vehicle lights on and off and activating the vehicle’s siren, Riverton Police Department officer Wesley Barry said Tuesday, so the officer on scene approached the truck and contacted the woman in the driver’s seat – Jessicca Gordon, 33, of Riverton.

The officer noticed that Gordon “smelled like an alcohol beverage,” Barry said, so she was asked to complete a field sobriety test.

“After the officer observed that she was too intoxicated to operate a motor vehicle, he placed her under arrest,” Barry said.

Gordon told the officer that the truck keys had not been in the ignition, but Barry said the officer believed that to be untrue due to his experience with emergency vehicles.

“The vehicles must be in at least accessory (mode) to initiate the emergency lights,” Barry said. He said the officer also checked the Expedition specifically to ensure the lights and sirens would not work without the keys in the ignition.

Gordon refused to give a breath sample at the scene, Barry said, so the RPD requested a search warrant to obtain a blood draw to determine her level of intoxication.

The other subject involved in the incident was a 32-year-old man who was not charged or cited, Barry said.

Bomb squad detonates bags of explosive slurry found in Guernsey reservoir

GUERNSEY (WNE) — Two hikers who were traveling through the dry Guernsey reservoir bottom came upon bags of high explosive slurry last Saturday and reported it to Guernsey Park ranger Chris Delay.

According to Delay, the hikers wanted to remain anonymous.

Each bag was approximately two feet long by five inches in diameter.

“We immediately called the bomb squad and two officers showed up,” Delay said. “One was from the Laramie County bomb squad and the other was a Cheyenne police officer. Upon further investigation and digging out the bags, five more were found, making a total of nine.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information defines a slurry explosive as one which “can be initiated by the detonator alone without the use of conventional sensitizers and is free from the deterioration due to time.”

The bags were labeled, and an investigation is ongoing as to how and when they got there. Speculation based upon the manufacture date is that they were manufactured sometime between the ‘60’s and the ’80's, Delay said.

“They could have been there for a long time,” he said. “We just don’t know yet.”

Delay said it looked like industrial explosive slurry, but that couldn’t be specifically determined either. At times these mixtures are used in military purposes or for mining purposes.

“The bomb squad detonated the bags right there in the lake bottom,” he said. “They were discovered about a mile northeast of the Sandy Beach boat ramp.