The Wyoming man who executed his two traveling companions in August was high on methamphetamine and irritated at their whispering, according to a confession that surfaced in a court transcript this week. Â
Luke Young, 27, pleaded guilty in Natrona County District Court on March 3 to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault stemming from the shooting deaths of Kameron Young-Johnson and Acacia Colvin.Â
By pleading guilty he avoids the death penalty, but faces a life sentence in prison.
âA Rundown On What Happenedâ
Judge Joshua Eames asked Young to give a factual account of what happened to support his guilty plea. Â
âIâll just give a rundown on what happened,â said Young after speaking briefly with his attorney, Dylan Rosalez. âWe had just dropped some fentanyl off over in Worland, and we were heading back.â Â
The trio had left Casper earlier that day in a red car to deal drugs in Wyoming. Both men were armed. Young sat in the back.
They stopped in the Wind River Canyon outside Thermopolis, a jagged thoroughfare known for the canyonâs colorful and steep rock formations. There the trio did âa bunch of meth,â said Young. Â
Then they drove through the town of Shoshoni and pivoted toward Casper. Â
âTheyâre whispering, talking up front and I confronted them about it,â said Young. âAnd they started tripping on me, asking me why I was acting like a cop and such. And I just wanted to get out of the car.â Â
But they wouldnât let Young get out of the car, he told Eames, adding that he asked at least twice. Â
âSo I got my gun and pointed it,â he said. âKamâs like, âOh, you think that f-ing thing scares me?ââÂ
Young said that Kameron Young-Johnson âwent for his gun he had under his leg.âÂ
âI pulled the trigger,â said Young. Â
Colvin, who was driving by then, screamed and pulled the car over. Â
Young got out of the back passenger side while she got out of the front driverâs side, he said. Â
âThatâs when Stalkup pulled up,â said Young.
The Witness
Kyle Stalkup was a motorcyclist who pulled over to help the trio because when he saw Colvin pull over in the evening darkness, he thought she may have hit a deer, according to court documents. Â
âI got out, pointed the gun at him, told him to get the F out of there,â said Young.Â
Stalkup left.Â
He later told police that he âdumped the clutchâ on his motorcycle and called 911 as he fled. Â
Youngâs aggravated assault conviction stems from pointing the .40-caliber gun at Stalkup. Â
âI saw someone coming at me out of the corner of my eye,â Young continued. âI just reacted, shot six times, and then after that I left.â Â
Eames asked Young to specify whom he shot six times. Â
âI shot Acacia,â answered Young. Â
âThat was after you shot Mr. Johnson?â asked Eames. Â
âYes, sir,â said Young. Â
Both Rosalez and Natrona County District Attorney Daniel Itzen said they believed Youngâs confession was sufficient to warrant a conviction on all three charges. Â
Eames agreed and found Young guilty, adding that Young appeared to be sound of mind and was not coerced into making his plea. Â
The hearing lasted 28 minutes. Â




