Crime & Courts
News
Wyoming High Court Expands Right To Remain Silent, Throws Out Molestation Conviction
A striking Wyoming Supreme Court ruling defends people’s right to remain silent more vigilantly and could change how prosecutors try cases. The Thursday ruling also throws out the conviction of a Casper man accused of sexually touching young girls.
Clair McFarlandMarch 21, 2025
Tow Truck Driver Hit On I-80 By Rogue Pickup Recovering In Casper Hospital
A tow truck operator is recovering after losing a kidney and suffering other organ ruptures. A rogue pickup struck him Wednesday on the shoulder of Interstate 80 outside of Wamsutter, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Greenpeace Ordered To Pay $667M In Protest Damages Over Dakota Access Pipeline
Greenpeace was ordered by a judge Wednesday to pay $667 million related to a 10-month violent protest over building the Dakota Access Pipeline. Protesters camping at the North Dakota site damaged the land and created a policing and cleanup nightmare.
David MadisonMarch 20, 2025
Death Penalty Off The Table For 1 Teen Charged In Deadly Bow-And-Arrow Ambush
The death penalty is off the table for one of two Big Piney, Wyoming, teens accused of conspiring to kill a man in a bow-and-arrow ambush. But the prosecutor said Thursday he’s not ready to say if he’ll seek death for the teen accused of firing the bow.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Byron Mom In Murder-Suicide Had Depression, Anxiety Meds In System
The Byron, Wyoming, woman who fatally shot her four children then herself last month had depression and anti-anxiety medications in her system, according to a coroner’s investigation report released Thursday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Report: Pickup Losing Control Leaving Green River Tunnel Started Fatal Crash
The National Transportation Safety Board on Wednesday released its preliminary report on the Green River Tunnel disaster. It says a pickup truck lost control as it exited the westbound tunnel and started the 26-vehicle, triple-fatality crash on February 14, 2025.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Woman Identified In Fatal Crash Outside Rawlins That Closed I-80 For Hours
Mary Couch, 70 of Alabama, was identified as the victim in Saturday’s I-80 crash outside Rawlins on Saturday that closed the interstate for hours. The driver accused of killing Couch was released from jail on a $20,000 cash bond.
Clair McFarlandMarch 20, 2025
Tow Truck Operator Responding To Crash Hit By Pickup On Icy I-80 Near Wamsutter
A tow truck operator recovering vehicles from night crash near Wamsutter along Interstate-80 was struck by a pickup Wednesday, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports. The operator was life-flighted from the scene.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025
Wyoming Supports Trump's Plan To Deport Members Of Violent Venezuelan Gang
When 26 Republican-led states urged a court Tuesday to stop a judge's block on Trump's plan to deport Venezuelan gang members, Wyoming wasn't among them. But that's because of timing, not a lack of support, the Wyoming attorney general says.
Clair McFarlandMarch 19, 2025
Gillette Man Accused Of Pistol-Whipping, Trying To Shoot Sister’s Friend
A Gillette man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly pistol-whipping and trying to shoot a friend of his sister’s Monday. “I tried to kill him,” he reportedly told police, but in court Tuesday told the judge, "I defended myself.”
Jen KocherMarch 19, 2025
Riverton Police Say They Caught Man Who Stole Car With Baby In It
The Riverton Police Department said Tuesday it caught a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a vehicle with a 3-month-old baby in it, then abandoning both the car and baby west of Riverton, Wyoming, last month.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Brief: Trucker Suspected Of Causing I-80 Crash That Killed Another Trucker
A Washington state trucker has been charged with homicide by vehicle after a Saturday crash on I-80 near Rawlins. He’s accused of crashing into another semitrailer, killing a person in the truck’s sleeper cab.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Gillette Man, 77, Accused Of Offering Sex Act To Teenage Boy
A 77-year-old Gillette man accused of soliciting a 15-year-old boy for sex could face between five and 12 years in prison. His case rose to felony-level court Thursday after a monthslong delay that included a mental fitness evaluation.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Accused Of Sex Acts With Judge, Having Child Porn
Former Jackson Hole Fire Chief Ned Brady Hansen has been charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in Utah. Authorities there say he trafficked in child pornography and had a sexual encounter with the same judge who declined to keep him in jail.
Clair McFarlandMarch 18, 2025
Cheyenne Man Accused Of Pepper-Spraying Cops During Fight In Driveway
A Cheyenne man's case rose Friday to the felony-level court, on claims he pepper sprayed cops while interfering with a woman's traffic stop. The man reportedly also cursed and spat racial slurs at police as they investigated a DUI at his house.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
State Trooper Arrests Suspected Illegal Immigrant With 18,000 Rounds Of Ammunition
An illegal immigrant was arrested Friday near Rawlins for carrying 18,000 rounds of rifle ammunition, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol. Ricardo Paez-Quinones faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and/or deportation if convicted.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
Riverton Man Accused Of Beating Friend To Death Strikes Plea Deal Before Trial
A Riverton man accused of beating his friend to death and leaving him for his parents to find has agreed to plead guilty. The agreement came just days before his manslaughter trial was to start Monday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025
Boyfriend Of Missing Gillette Woman Irene Gakwa Set For Prison Release
The boyfriend of Irene Gakwa, a Gillette nursing student missing for three years, is set to be released from prison this month. Nathan Hightman drained her accounts after she disappeared and remains a “person of interest” in the case.
Jen KocherMarch 15, 2025
Westbound Green River Tunnel May Not Reopen Until Next Winter
It’s been more than a month since a devastating 26-vehicle Valentine’s Day crash killed three people in the Green River Tunnel on westbound Interstate 80. The Wyoming Department of Transportation says it will take months to repair and hopes to have it open by next winter.
Greg JohnsonMarch 15, 2025
'Bitcoin Billionaire' Wanted In All 50 States After Friend Pays, Loses $50K Bond
Investigators say a man who cast himself as a ‘bitcoin billionaire’ during a Jackson Hole spending spree was committing fraud. He skipped court this week - after convincing a friend to pay his $50,000 cash bond. Kevin Segal is now wanted in all 50 states.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
AG's Office Says Gillette Judge Didn't Break Rules By Holding Public Defender In Contempt
The judge who fined a public defender $100 and ordered him to write an apology letter for being late says he followed the rules in doing so. The public defender quit after paying the fine and writing the letter.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
Casper Man Pleads Not Guilty To Charges From January Stabbing
A 71-year-old Casper man pleaded not guilty Friday to three charges stemming from a January stabbing at his apartment. He allegedly told police one of the stabbings was an accident.
Dale KillingbeckMarch 14, 2025
Judge Orders Trump To Reinstate Fired National Park Service Employees
A federal judge issued a scathing rebuke Thursday and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees fired last month, including 1,000 at the National Park Service. The White House called the order "absurd and unconstitutional."
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
Fort Washakie 18-Year-Old 'Allegedly' Jumped From Car To Her Death, Initial Report Says
A Wyoming Highway Patrol preliminary investigative report published this month says Stephanie Bearstail, an 18-year-old Fort Washakie student, "allegedly" jumped from a moving vehicle to her death March 4.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025