Wyoming News Briefs

Missing toddler found dead in Cheyenne dumpster

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Following a missing child search that began early Friday afternoon, Cheyenne Police discovered the body of two-year-old Athian Rivera in a dumpster.

The search for Rivera – which involved multiple law enforcement agencies, as well as two local fire departments – began following a report of the child being missing at about 1 p.m. Friday. 

CPD, along with members of the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Cheyenne Fire Rescue and Laramie County Fire District 2 were involved in the search, according to information shared by CPD Public Information Officer Alexandra Farkas at a news conference about the incident late Friday afternoon.

Farkas said a reverse 911 call was sent out to locate the child within half a mile of his last known location; social media was used to try to find Rivera; and the child’s name was included in a national missing children database.

A K-9 unit was also involved in the search for Rivera, Farkas said.

The search ended when Rivera’s body was found in the dumpster.

“This is an active investigation,” Farkas said, noting that she would not be taking additional questions from reporters. “There is no danger to the public.”

Friday night, several Cheyenne residents held a small candlelight vigil at the state Capitol to pray for Rivera’s family and for swift justice in the matter.

UW, FBI investigate ‘Zoom bombing’

LARAMIE (WNE) — The University of Wyoming Police Department and FBI are currently investigating the racist Zoom bombing that took place Monday during a UW Black History Month forum hosted by the Black Studies Center and African American and Diaspora Studies.

During the event, racist pornographic images were displayed that disrupted the panel discussion on cinematic racist propaganda. 

Chad Baldwin, associate vice president for marketing and communications, said in a phone briefing Friday that UW police officials and the UW Information Technology Office are conducting a forensic analysis to determine how the perpetrators were able to navigate the Zoom platform. 

“So far they found three perpetrators came in through virtual private networks (VPNs),” said Baldwin, adding a fourth used a Maryland internet provider. 

Baldwin said there is no evidence to support UW involvement, but officials are still considering potential ways they might further identify the individual in Maryland. 

Speculative evidence suggests the individual(s) responsible for Monday’s attack may also be connected to similar attacks that have occurred during other university-hosted virtual Black History Month programs across the nation. Commonalities between the attacks include repetitive racial slurs, Zoom usernames with mocking phrases, racist and homophobic pornographic images/ videos and racist remarks in the chat rooms. 

Other universities that have been Zoom-bombed during the month include Penn State, Rutgers University, Rider University, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of South Florida and Seattle University. All are conducting investigations, either with local law enforcement or FBI. 

Retirement could leave Newcastle without ambulance 

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — The future of ambulance services in Newcastle and Weston County is uncertain after Roger Hespe, owner of Newcastle Ambulance Service, announced his plans to retire on Facebook and in a letter addressed to the City of Newcastle in June of this year. 

According to Mayor Pam Gualtieri, the Newcastle City Council reached out to the Weston County commissioners, as well as Upton and Osage, to discuss the future of ambulance services in the area after receiving notice of the planned retirement. 

“It is a serious issue. There is no state statute saying we are required to have EMS services, but it is definitely needed,” Gualtieri said. “We have to have a plan of action, and it can’t just be the council. It is going to take the whole county.” 

The mayor said that discussions are in the beginning stages and include various options. 

Gualtieri told the News Letter Journal that individuals, both local and not, have expressed interest in acquiring the ambulance service from Hespe. If this were to occur, the service would remain a private business. 

The other options, according to Gualtieri, involve some form of government-operated service, whether that be city, county or hospital run. 

“We have been able to open the doors with the other entities. That is a huge start,” Gualtieri said. “I am confident something is going to happen. … The question is whether it will be A, B or C.”

Woman faces eight charges in alleged burglary, vehicle theft

RIVERTON (WNE) — A 41-year-old woman has been arrested on eight different criminal charges – seven of them felonies – after what appeared to be a thwarted UTV theft, property damage, a failed truck theft, a pistol theft and armed entry, presumably while under the influence of alcohol. 

Shawnda Frazier faces the charge of aggravated burglary, which alleges that she broke into a truck while armed with a pistol and intending to commit a felony in the truck. 

Frazier also is charged with burglary theft of a firearm, attempted theft of a UTV, felony theft, and felony property destruction. 

She also faces one misdemeanor count of interference with peace officers, and a felony driving-while-under-the-influence charge. 

According to court documents, on Jan. 29 at about 8:58 p.m., FSO deputy Kelsi Sullivan was dispatched to Power Toys on Highway 789 north of Riverton due to the attempted theft of a 2021 Polaris RZR utility vehicle, valued at $21,000. A passerby had spotted the RZR stuck in the security fence gate with the engine running and the headlights on. 

Later, A white 2005 GMC truck was reported stolen and was last seen traveling north on Highway 789 toward Shoshoni. Fremont County Sheriff’s Department and Shoshoni Police Department officers performed a traffic stop on the truck in Shoshoni. 

The driver pulled into a parking lot on the east side of Shoshoni, got out of the vehicle and ran south to the train tracks. She was apprehended, handcuffed and identified as Frazier. 

In the truck was a garbage bag containing .22-caliber pistol, a matching magazine and holster later reported stolen.

WYDOT reports 10 snowplow ‘strikes’ over five days

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Wyoming Department of Transportation reported 10 snowplow strikes over a five-day span as plows were out maintaining the roads due to wintry conditions. The strikes, which occurred from Feb. 11-16, bring the total number to 17 for the winter season, which runs from October through May. 

Some of the recent weekend snowplow strikes occurred near Elk Mountain and Rawlins on Interstate 80 in southeast Wyoming; Interstate 25 near Cheyenne in southeast Wyoming; I-25 near Wheatland, Chugwater and Douglas in east-central Wyoming; on WYO 120 south of Cody and on WYO 28 near Farson. 

Most of the plows were struck from behind by other vehicles, resulting in minor damages and injuries; however, one incident involved a tractor-trailer hitting the rear of the plow, which totaled both vehicles and injured a WYDOT plow driver. Most of the public’s vehicles had to be towed from the highway. 

The number of strikes has fluctuated over the past few years. There were 23 crashes for 2019-20 winter season, eight crashes for 2018-19, eight for 2017-18, three for 2016-17, seven for 2015-16 and 13 for 2014-15.

Gillette man’s $3 bet leads to nearly half-million win

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man won big earlier this month when he won nearly half a million dollars at Wyoming Downs and set a state record.

On Feb. 5, Clint Hoffman was at the Wyoming Downs location on South Douglas Highway, in the former Mingles building. He put down $3 at a historic horse racing machine, and won a $490,685.58 jackpot.

The haul was a Wyoming record for the largest jackpot ever won at a historic horse racing terminal. The machines have been in Wyoming since 2013, and each year hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers are placed.

“We are so excited to be a part of this record setting jackpot,” Rick Cook, chief operating officer at Wyoming Downs, said in a press release. “We are thrilled Wyoming Downs is home to the state’s largest jackpot win.”

A portion of each wager made on historic horse racing terminals across the state goes toward the jackpot and builds up over time. Cook said this particular jackpot had been accumulating for about a year.

From 2017 through the first seven months of 2020, a total of $2.1 billion was wagered on historic horse racing in Wyoming, and $1.9 billion has been paid out to winners.

In 2019, a total of $793,477,137 was wagered on historic horse racing and 17% of that, or nearly $140 million, was wagered in Gillette. Through the first seven months of 2020, $61 million was wagered in Gillette.

Both years, Gillette bet the second highest dollar amount in the state, trailing only Cheyenne.