A traffic stop led to a felony arrest for a Gillette man driving away from a Casper neighborhood police believe to be a drug haven.
Zachary Stott, 29, faces up to 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines for a federal charge of possessing ammunition despite being a convicted felon, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Wrong Lane
As Stott drove away from the north side of Casper on Oct. 7, he entered the wrong lane of traffic, reads the evidentiary affidavit.
Casper Police Officer Husted pulled Stott over in his black GMC truck because she thought he was impaired, the evidentiary affidavit says.
Stott told Husted he was visiting a friend in Casper for the day. Husted noticed a suitcase and multiple bags in the back seat, which she thought odd for someone on a day visit.
“Officer Husted also noted the vehicle was coming from the north side of Casper which is known for criminal activity,” especially drug trafficking, says the document.
Shook
The affidavit says Stott shook and was nervous as Husted questioned him.
Husted called for another officer and a drug-detection dog while she wrote Stott citations for no proof of insurance and improper lane use. Her body camera footage showed her typing up the citations then running Stott through field sobriety tests.
Husted did not smell alcohol on Stott. But she believed he was intoxicated, the affidavit says, because his voice lagged and rasped and because he had constricted pupils.
The dog arrived and another officer ran the dog around the truck. The dog indicated there were narcotics in the truck, so officers put Stott and his passenger, a 45-year-old man, in handcuffs and searched the truck.
Illegal Drugs Cheaper In Casper
Officers found what they believed to be methamphetamine, fentanyl pills and buprenorphine hydrochloride pills, along with drug paraphernalia, $840 in cash, and a loaded Glock semi-automatic pistol with no serial number, the affidavit says.
The document says they found the Glock under the driver’s seat cushion and the drugs in the backpack, along with multiple receipts and documents bearing Stott’s name.
Husted read Stott his Miranda rights and he agreed to speak to her. He admitted he was a drug user but said he wasn’t dealing drugs. He said he’d used up to 30 fentanyl pills a day for the past six months, the affidavit alleges, adding that Stott went to Casper for the drugs because they’re more expensive in Gillette.
Gun Owner Got ‘Hit’
Stott said he took the Glock from a Colorado man who got “hit,” the affidavit alleges.
Krystal Stevenson, a special agent for the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), investigated Stott following his arrest. Wyoming had convicted Stott in 2011 of two counts of aggravated burglary and another count of felony, Stevenson found.
Aggravated burglary is the act of breaking into a structure to commit a felony inside it.
On April 6 another ATF agent determined the origin of the 9 mm rounds agents allegedly found in Stott’s truck, finding all the 9 mm ammunition was from states outside Wyoming.
The U.S. Attorney for Wyoming charged Stott on Wednesday with the felony count, and hopes to keep him in jail during the prosecution, according to the charging document.
