NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 30, 2020

From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers
Posted 7/31/20

News in Brief from across the Cowboy State

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NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, July 30, 2020

Posted

Sweetwater sheriff investigates I-80 crime spree

LYMAN (WNE) — Since the beginning of July, the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office has investigated at least nine separate incidents in a string of burglaries and thefts stretching across the county from Wamsutter to Granger along Interstate 80. 

According to a press release Tuesday by Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Jason Mower, these reports include auto thefts and burglaries, residential and commercial burglaries and mail theft. From July 13 to July 24, sheriff’s deputies and detectives have recovered three stolen vehicles, a stolen utility trailer and stolen license plates. 

Investigators recently discovered evidence to suggest these incidents are likely related and have identified two suspects, who have since been arrested and are being held in a neighboring county on similar charges. The sheriff’s office is now working with other law enforcement agencies in the region and from across the state to determine whether any of their active burglary or theft investigations may be tied to these same suspects. 

Investigators also believe that there may be similar cases that have not yet been discovered or reported. 

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Suspect in jail stabbing case to undergo mental evaluation

TORRINGTON – The trial of a Wyoming Medium Correctional Institute inmate accused of stabbing another inmate in the neck with a sharpened piece of fence has been postponed for a mental evaluation. 

Laziur Stephen Hanway, who is already serving a life sentence after a second-degree murder conviction in 2013, is charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault and battery. If he’s convicted, he could earn another life sentence. 

According to documents filed in the 8th Judicial District Court, Hanway is set to undergo a competency evaluation and his trial, as well as any other legal proceedings, are postponed until a licensed medical professional renders “an opinion as to whether the accused has a mental illness” and if that illness causes him to “lack the capacity to comprehend his position.”

According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause in Hanway’s case, filed by Torrington Police Department Sgt. Patrick Connelly, the assault was captured on the prison’s video security system.  

“I watched the video, which shows Hanway approaching the victim from behind while the victim is seated at a dining room table,” Connelly wrote. “Hanway walks directly to the victim and begins striking him in the right side of the neck. The victim falls to the floor and Hanway follows him and can be seen continuing to strike the victim until a corrections officer pulls him off.” 

The affidavit states the victim received seven puncture wounds, including wounds to the neck and face. 

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Laramie Brewfest canceled for first time

LARAMIE (WNE) — Laramie Brewfest has been canceled for the first time in 15 years amid health and safety concerns brought on by the coronavirus, according to a Thursday news release.

The annual summertime event, which was originally scheduled to take place on July 11, was rescheduled to Sept. 26. But with numbers of coronavirus cases in Wyoming continuing to climb, it was determined the event could not go forward.

“It is with heavy hearts, and the care and concern of our community, that we announce the cancelation of Downtown Laramie Brewfest 2020,” a Laramie Main Street Alliance news release says. “In light of current conditions and future unknowns, we do not feel that we can host this event safely.”

For the past 15 years, Brewfest has hosted more than 2,000 participants sampling beers, listening to live music and connecting with local vendors. The event was the biggest fundraiser for Laramie Main Street Alliance and will inevitably carry financial ramifications for the downtown businesses as well.

“It’s a fundraiser for Main Street and it makes up over 50% of our budget so that’s terrifying but the safety of our community is more important.” Trey Sherwood, Laramie Main Street Alliance director, told the Boomerang.

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Former prosecutor wants disciplinary hearing closed

JACKSON (WNE) — The Wyoming State Bar Board of Professional Responsibility says the disciplinary hearing of former Teton County deputy prosecutor Becket Hinckley should be open to the press and public, like a regular court hearing.

Hinckley’s attorneys disagree and have appealed the board’s decision to keep the hearing closed to the Wyoming Supreme Court.

“There is nothing in the record of this matter that is of a confidential nature such as to warrant the closing of the hearing,” board Chair Jeffrey Donnell wrote in his July 17 decision, “especially given the fact that the specifics of the case and the allegations against Mr. Hinckley are already available to the public.”

Donnell said the Board of Professional Responsibility “finds no compelling reason to bar the public or the press” from the hearing, which was set to begin Tuesday in Casper.

It has since been delayed because of the appeal.

On Monday, Hinckley’s attorney Stephen Kline filed a petition arguing the hearing should be confidential.

“The Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure and the Wyoming Rules of Evidence do not address under what circumstances hearings are public,” Kline wrote, “Significantly, Wyoming Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, Rule 15(b)(3)(E) provides that the Hearing Panel may issue a finding of private reprimand. The right to a private reprimand cannot be squared with a hearing that is open to the public.”

The Wyoming State Bar brought a formal charge against Hinckley last year, alleging several counts of prosecutorial misconduct during an aggravated assault case against Josh Black, whose conviction was reversed in 2017 by the Wyoming Supreme Court.

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Man pleads guilty to bringing pot edibles to nursing home

PINEDALE (WNE) — A Colorado man charged with bringing THC “edibles” during a visit to a Sublette Center resident changed his plea to guilty of the felony delivery of a controlled substance.

William A. Ahrens, of Lyons, Colorado, pleaded guilty in 9th District Court on July 23 to the charge, and Judge Marv Tyler determined that he would not set a sentencing hearing until the pre-sentence investigation was completed and Ahrens had access to it.

A plea agreement filed agreed Ahrens could be sentenced to 13 to 24 months in jail, which would then be suspended and he would complete a term of unsupervised probation, according to court documents. 

The “edibles” seized from a resident and tested positively for THC were candies that were packaged and sold in Colorado. 

No money exchanged hands during the December 2019 visit by Ahrens to the Sublette Center, an affidavit says. The resident had asked Ahrens to bring him some THC a couple of months earlier and both talked about bringing THC from Colorado, where it is legal, to Wyoming, where it is illegal. Wyoming has no provisions for medical marijuana or THC and marijuana possession, although legal in Colorado, is still against federal law. 

The felony’s maximum penalties could be 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.