Rock Springs Man Accused Of Stabbing Landlord's Eye Out With Pliers Headed To Trial

A Rock Springs man accused of stabbing out his landlord’s eye with pliers two winters ago as the landlord tried to check his home’s pipes is headed to trial in three weeks, court documents say.

Robert Wayne Downum, 58, faces one count of aggravated assault, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

His jury trial is set to begin Oct. 13 in Sweetwater County District Court.

That’s after nearly two years of pending and active prosecution, including hiatuses in the case to let professionals evaluate Downum’s mental health.

It’s unclear what Downum’s trial strategy will be.

Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe confirmed Tuesday that Downum pleaded “not guilty by reason of mental illness” (NGMI) at his arraignment, but said an additional, “not guilty” plea option remains available to him. 

In Wyoming, a defendant can invoke the mental illness plea and the not-guilty plea simultaneously.

Each is handled differently at trial. For the NGMI plea, the defendant can win acquittal by showing – by the greater weight of the evidence – that he was too mentally ill to rationalize his conduct or conform it to the law.

For the not-guilty plea, the defendant is acquitted if the state fails to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the crime.

Downum’s public defense attorney Rob Spence did not immediately respond to a Wednesday request for clarification on Downum’s plea.

Self-Defense

A self-defense argument may also be a component at trial.

Downum attempted last month to have the case dismissed early on a self-defense claim.

Sweetwater County District Court Judge Richard Lavery wasn’t convinced by that argument, says an Aug. 8 order by the judge.

That’s because the elderly landlord Downum is accused of stabbing in the eye the afternoon of Jan. 13, 2024, gave a more credible testimony than Downum did of the incident.

By Downum’s account in his Aug. 4 self-defense, or “John” hearing, David Brough handled Downum’s social security payments for him. Brough also bought a trailer house for Downum, and Downum agreed to pay him back for that and gain the legal title to the trailer.

Brough helped Downum go to meetings, get his medication, and apply for public benefits, even helping Downum to the point that he “saved his life,” Downum conceded at the hearing.

They had rocky interactions as well, said Downum, alleging that on past instances Brough yelled at Downum, tapped him on the chest and shoved past him – prompting Downum to threaten Brough with a frying pan.

Downum testified that on Jan. 13, 2024, Brough shouldered through the trailer door and attacked Downum, prompting the pliers attack.

Brough gave an altogether different testimony, saying he came to bring Downum’s benefits money and check the pipes for freezing, and Downum grew angry once Brough was already inside the trailer.

“Downum got really mad and walked around a table looking for something to hit him with,” Lavery’s Aug. 8 order recounts from that testimony. “He picked up a pair of pliers.”

Brough testified that he didn’t think Downum was serious about using the pliers and acknowledged that Downum had threatened him with a frying pan in the past.

Brough tried to calm the man down.

“Downum swung the pliers at Mr. Brough full force, hitting him in the side of his nose and stabbing his eye out,” the judge recounted from the older man’s testimony. “Mr. Brough turned and left. Mr. Downum hit him in the back with the pliers as he was leaving.”

The original affidavit says Downum’s arm showed a scratch after the incident.

Brough took himself to the hospital and later lost his eye, court documents say.

Nah

Lavery declined to dismiss Downum’s case early on the self-defense claim, though Downum may still argue self-defense before a jury.

The judge’s function there is a gatekeeping effort meant to honor a Wyoming law saying a man “shall not” be prosecuted if he acted in self-defense. It’s not a finding of guilt or innocence.

As to Lavery’s finding, it was based on Brough’s testimony being more credible than Downum’s, and on an observation of Brough himself.

“(Brough) better explained the sequence of, and reasons for, the events of that day,” wrote Lavery. “Mr. Downum’s claim that Mr. Brough attacked without warning, trying to force his way into the trailer, did not make sense.”

Brough’s movements in the courtroom revealed that he’s “an elderly man with limited mobility” for whom launching a random attack would not be plausible, added Lavery.

Lavery’s order says Downum appeared to launch a “diminished capacity” defense in support of his claim that he had a reasonable belief, during the stabbing, that he was under attack.

But no laws or cases have married Wyoming’s diminished capacity or insanity defense to the “reasonable belief” by which a person may lawfully act with self-defense in the state, the judge added.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.