GOSHEN COUNTY – The Goshen County District Court met in session 10 a.m. Monday morning for the plea change of Goshen County man, Joseph Hemme.

After reaching a plea agreement with the state of Wyoming, Hemme chose to plead guilty to one count of check forgery. 

In the state of Wyoming check forgery is considered a felony with  maximum penalties of up to 10 years in prison and/or fines of up to $10,000.

District Judge Ed Buchanan presided over the hearing with Goshen County Attorney and Prosecutor Eric Boyer representing the state of Wyoming.

Representing the defense of Hemme was Public Defender Denny Harts.

The proceeding began with Judge Buchanan addressing Hemme as well as all others in attendance at court.

“I would note formal review of the file regarding this matter has been reviewed a couple of times,” Buchanan began. “We were set for trial on December 20, and then the court received a notice file on December 5 of an intent to change plea by Mr. Harts. The intent was to change the plea from not guilty by reason of mental illness to guilty or no contest. Mr. Hemme you have heard these conversations over the last few minutes, and what the court wrote down is you have decided to order a guilty plea for a single count of forgery. As part of that there are some misdemeanors pending in Goshen County Circuit Court that will be dismissed as part of that agreement.”

After reviewing basic matters related to the hearing itself, Judge Buchanan then proceeded to review charges against the defendant. Buchanan gave a firm reminder of what a guilty plea means for a defendant moving forward, and where the state stands when entering such a plea.

“There is a pending presentence investigation (PSI),” Buchanan continued. “The PSI will also be completed for this case, will be combined at discretion of probation/parole and will have a sentencing hearing. The state will stand in silence which means your attorney may argue for you on what the sentence ought to be. Just briefly I’m going to go over some things for you since this is a change of plea. As I mentioned this is a single count alleging a felony of forgery with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, with a $10,000 fine.

“If you decide to change your plea today, you need to understand there won’t be a trial and you would be making it such that the state does not have to prove a case against you. You give up your right to remain silent. When you reach a plea agreement, you must tell the court under oath exactly what you did. There are consequences in pleading to a felony that are financially and personally impactful to your civil rights. If you plead guilty you could be required to make restitution if applicable, meaning you could be liable for financial losses that were caused of others. This includes counseling or attorney fees for example. Also you would be assessed a surcharge and various required court costs.”

“Do you understand the ramifications?” Buchanan continued. “A felony conviction could deprive you of the right to vote, hold public office, sit on a jury, hold professional licenses, or possess firearms. Those terms are used in the broadest sense possible. In addition to that under federal law you would be prohibited from owning or possessing a firearm unless they were restored under Wyoming law. Finally Wyoming law advises if you are a member of law enforcement or a hunting guide authorized to carry a firearm, a felony could impact your ability to have those types of professions. As a convicted felon you will be required to submit a DNA sample to the state of Wyoming in the database potentially forever, and could be used against you to investigate and prosecute any past, present or future crimes. If you have any other pending charges anywhere, that probation and parole could be revoked, and you could be required to serve other sentences.”

As per requirement when entering a guilty plea, Harts asked Hemme all questions before the court pertaining to what had factually occurred in attempting to defraud the state of Wyoming with a forged check.

“I would concur that a pre-sentence investigation was ordered, and the completion date on that is January 8,” Harts stated. “We would also ask of the court that his bond be revoked and returned pending sentencing. Mr. Hemme were you in Goshen County on January 27, 2023? Did you attempt to cash a check in Torrington? Was that check made out to you by a local livestock company? And you attempted to cash that check knowing that the check was not made out to you, with the intent of defrauding the value of that check?”

Hemme answered each question in the affirmative.

The defendant was then given a chance under oath to speak before the court, elaborating on what prompted him in making an attempt to cash a check at a local establishment not made out to him.

“It was given to me by someone,” Hemme stated. “I was under the influence and doing drugs at that time. I don’t know what I was thinking, and it wasn’t smart. It wasn’t something I wasn’t comfortable with from the jump, and reality sunk in when I tried to cash it.” 

Judge Buchanan asked the defendant if he knew he was trying to receive money that didn’t rightfully belong to him.

“Sadly yes your honor,” Hemme replied. “They told me they couldn’t cash it and told me to go to the bank to take care of it. That’s when I decided to not go through with it. I wasn’t comfortable with it from the beginning. I’ve already done time from relapsing and getting back into drugs. I figured it was going to be something that would work, but I didn’t want to deal with it.”

After hearing positions from both the defendant and his representation, Prosecuting Attorney Boyer addressed the court as part of the proposed plea agreement.

“Mr. Hemme does have several pending cases both here and in circuit court,” Boyer said. “It is for the state to dismiss unrelated misdemeanors and related offenses in circuit court, and would suggest probation and parole.”

After ensuring Hemme of his Constitutional Rights, as well as hearing factual presentation from the defendant and his counsel, Buchanan accepted Hemme’s guilty plea of forgery on behalf of the court.

“I will make the finding that Mr. Hemme is not under the influence of alcohol, medications or drugs,” Buchanan stated. “He has not had issues being able to communicate with this court. Your responses to my questions have been appropriate this morning and I will find you are competent to enter this plea, and have done so voluntarily with legal counsel of which you are satisfied. You understand the direct and indirect consequences which are impactful to your civil rights. Your guilty plea has not been from the result of threats, and this court will accept the guilty plea. You will continue to be detained at the Goshen County Detention Center to await sentencing. Your bond is there, and will conclude in the order that any bond will be returned. It will take several weeks, but we will see you again for sentencing shortly.”

The proceeding concluded with the court standing in recess at approximately 10:30 a.m.