Wyoming News Briefs

Scout leader arrested on suspicion of stealing from troops

GILLETTE (WNE) — A local Boy Scout leader is accused of stealing $31,000 from Gillette Scout troops between April and November, skimming money from popcorn fundraisers and troop accounts, said Gillette Police Detective Julianne Witham.

After a two-month police investigation, Jason Barnum, 41, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of three counts of theft greater than $1000 and obtaining goods by false pretenses, all felonies.

The Greater Wyoming Council, which oversees dozens of Boy Scout troops in the state and is located in Casper, discovered discrepancies in the Gillette troops’ accounts and popcorn orders and reported it to police in December, Witham said.

Each count of theft is for the entities from which Barnum allegedly took money: the Greater Wyoming Council, the Gillette Boy Scouts and the Gillette Cub Scouts.

In addition to stealing from the Scouts, Barnum allegedly conned a 76-year-old woman out of $122,000 while he was working as a contractor for her between 2017 and 2018, Witham said. She gave him the money as a loan after he promised to pay her back with his inheritance, which Barnum claimed he would receive soon. However, no such inheritance existed.

Barnum also is now on probation for theft by deception in South Dakota, Witham said.

Railroad faces wrongful death lawsuit

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The widow of a Union Pacific Railroad engineer who died in an October train collision west of Cheyenne has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company.

Union Pacific engineer Jason Martinez and conductor Benjamin Brozovich died Oct. 4 after their mixed-freight train’s brake system malfunctioned and they collided with another train stopped on the tracks. Nobody was in the stopped train at the time of the collision, which occurred about 18 miles west of town.

Between the two trains, 66 cars derailed, causing $2.4 million in damage, according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

On the day of the accident, Martinez’s train was heading east to North Platte, Nebraska, when the train’s crew realized the brakes were malfunctioning. The crew radioed the Union Pacific dispatch center to inform dispatch the train had accelerated to 50 mph and was unable to stop. 

The NTSB is still investigating the accident, but a preliminary report released by the board indicates that something in the brake system malfunctioned.

Martinez’s widow, Sheila Martinez, is suing Union Pacific for the wrongful death of her husband and claiming the company was negligent, according to a complaint filed in the First Judicial District Court of Wyoming. She is asking for a six-person jury trial.

Sheila Martinez is arguing Union Pacific had a duty to provide her husband with a safe work environment, and that the company failed to warn her husband “of the hazardous conditions existing with the…train’s brake system.” She is also claiming the company failed to enforce safety rules by failing to properly inspect or maintain the train’s brake system.

FAA fast-tracks Gillette-Campbell County Airport project

GILLETTE (WNE) —If all goes according to plan, the Gillette-Campbell County Airport will be able to complete a five-year project in only one year, thanks to the federal government.

The project involves relocating two taxiways and connecting two other taxiways to make the airport more secure. Campbell County Commissioners approved the grant application at their Tuesday meeting. If the airport gets the grant, the FAA would pay $5 million of the project’s $5.3 million cost. The state would kick in $200,000, and the county would be responsible for $133,333.

But Jay Lundell, airport director, cautioned that the project could be affected by the pending government shutdown, which would happen Feb. 15 if the White House and Congress can’t come to an agreement.

The FAA wants to increase security and reduce the probability of attacks at airports, Lundell said. One of the solutions is to limit direct access from the apron, where the planes are parked, to the runways.

At the Gillette-Campbell County Airport, one of the taxiways provides that direct access from the apron to the runway, while another taxiway doesn’t intersect the runway, which makes it difficult for airplanes to maneuver when they land. Those two taxiways will be relocated to correct the problem, and two others will be connected.

Former UW football player charged with sexual assault

LARAMIE (WNE) —The sexual assault and sexual battery charges pending against former University of Wyoming football player Carl Granderson involve two victims, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in his case.

The University of Wyoming announced Thursday that Granderson, who had been expected to be picked in the upcoming NFL draft, has been charged with third-degree sexual assault.

Two women reported to the UW Police Department on Nov. 26 that Granderson “had touched them sexually, without their permission, while they were sleeping” that same day.

Granderson and both women had been staying at an off-campus apartment the night before.

On Thursday, the Albany County Circuit Court denied both the Laramie Boomerang and the Casper Star-Tribune access to the court documents filed in Granderson’s case.

On Friday, the court clerks reversed course, providing the Laramie Boomerang with Granderson’s records after the Albany County Attorney’s Office filed a redacted version of the affidavit and charges.

If Granderson were convicted of third-degree sexual assault, he would face up to 10 years imprisonment.

Casper bar operating since 1934 to close

CASPER (WNE) — The Wonder Bar, a downtown Casper institution for decades, is closing, its management company announced Friday afternoon.

In a brief statement, the C85 Group, which operates the Wonder Bar, said that Sunday would be the bar’s last day of business.

The statement indicated the restaurant’s 25 employees may have opportunities to transfer to other locations in the group of food and beverage establishments owned by C85.

The Wonder Bar, which originally opened in 1934, was bought by the Cercy family in the fall of 2016. After it was gutted, remodeled and expanded, it reopened in August 2017, just before the total solar eclipse that drew large crowds to Casper.

Friday’s statement from C85 gave no reason for the closure. However, the business has experienced a noticeable decline in customers. Shortly after noon Friday, a reporter saw only two people in the downstairs dining area.

Housed in a 105-year-old building near the corner of Center Street and Midwest Avenue, the Wonder Bar for decades served as a popular watering hole for the city. It was known for attracting famous guests, including John Wayne, Ernest Hemingway and Dizzy Gillespie. According to local legend, patrons in the early years could ride into the bar on horseback to order drinks.

The Wonder Bar has gone through about ten owners over the years. Pat Sweeney, now a state lawmaker, sold the business to the Cercys.

Man arrested after high-speed chase wrong way on I-80

EVANSTON (WNE) — A 31-year-old Sweetwater County man is in custody after he allegedly led local law enforcement on a high speed chase while driving up to 70 mph the wrong way on Interstate 80.

Uinta County Sheriff Doug Matthews said in a press release that Chance Salcedo was spotted by Evanston Police officers after they were advised by dispatch of the wrong-way driver just before 8 a.m. during Sunday’s heavy snowstorm.

The driver of the 1995 Cadillac with Sweetwater County plates allegedly refused to stop for Evanston officers, and a deputy continued to follow the suspect.

“Due to poor weather conditions, I-80 was closed, allowing deputies to pursue the vehicle with little risk to other vehicles,” according to the release. “Upon reaching the road closed gate at mile post 34, the driver crashed through the gate and continued eastbound.”

Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers made an unsuccessful attempt to spike the tires of the suspect’s vehicle at mile marker 42, but were able to force the vehicle to the side of the road about 10 miles later, where the vehicle became stuck in the snow.

Salcedo has been charged with reckless driving, eluding and property destruction. Matthews said the estimated damage to the gate is $6,000.

UW basketball player pleads not guilty to assault

LARAMIE (WNE) — A suspended Wyoming men’s basketball player has pleaded not guilty to assault and battery charges.

Ny Redding, who’s facing two counts of simple assault and one count of battery, entered a not guilty plea in Albany County Circuit Court on Friday through his attorneys, according to court documents. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in a December incident at a Laramie bar.

Redding also requested that his initial court appearance set for Feb. 14 be vacated and a scheduling conference be set for Feb. 21 prior to the case being scheduled for a jury trial, according to the documents.

A senior point guard, Redding was suspended indefinitely on Dec. 12 after starting the Cowboys’ first nine games and has not been a part of any team activities since. Redding was originally issued a citation by the Laramie Police Department for disorderly conduct and inciting a fight following an incident at Roxie’s on Grand in downtown Laramie in the early hours of Dec. 9, but that was thrown out when the misdemeanor charges were filed against him in January.

Redding is accused of striking a female UW student, Molly Pickerill, in the face, leaving her unconscious. He also swung and nicked another student, Katie Schrater, in the nose.

Redding is being represented by Megan Overmann Goetz, a lawyer with Pence and MacMillan LLC. Multiple messages left for Goetz at her office seeking comment have not been returned.

Thermopolis woman killed in wreck

THERMOPOLIS (WNE) — A Thermopolis resident died in a two-vehicle crash west of Thermopolis on Thursday afternoon.

Candis Peterson, 37, was driving north in a 2011 Honda Pilot when she attempted to turn into a driveway on the west side of Wyoming Highway 120. Her vehicle collided with a 2014 Ford F-550 traveling southbound, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

Peterson, who previously lived in Powell, was wearing her seat belt but succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the crash, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said in a news release. A juvenile passenger in the Honda was injured in the crash and transported to the Hot Springs Memorial Hospital.

The driver of the Ford F-550 has been identified as 61-year-old Larry Houlihan of Billings, Montana. Houlihan was wearing his seat belt and was transported to the Hot Springs Memorial Hospital for injuries.

The crash occurred at around 3:20 p.m. at milepost 5 on Wyoming Highway 120 west of Thermopolis.

Driver inattention on the part of Peterson is being investigated as a contributing factor, according to the highway patrol.

This is the 16th fatality on Wyoming’s highways in 2019. By comparison, there were eight at this time last year, nine in 2017 and six in 2016.