Wyoming News Briefs

Man charged in Riverton stabbing faces enhanced sentence

RIVERTON (WNE) — Accused of stabbing a 55-year-old man in a van near North Federal Blvd last week, Jody VanFleet was sent to a higher court on Wednesday. 

The 37-year-old VanFleet has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault, one for the stabbing, and one for threatening the alleged victim with a drawn deadly weapon. 

One of the assaults is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

But because VanFleet has been convicted of two felonies prior and now faces an allegation of felonious violence, the state enhanced the other aggravated assault charge with the habitual criminal penalty – enabling a possible 10-50 years on the sentence. 

He also faces one felony-level charge of domestic violence, which carries another 10-50-year enhancement, and again refers to VanFleet’s prior felonies. 

He was convicted in 2016 in California, for “attempted corporal injury on… cohabitant,” and in 2007 in Wyoming, for assault resulting in a serious bodily injury. 

Riverton Police Department Detective Jim Donahue testified during the hearing that officers responded on March 10 to reports of a man lying in the street, bleeding.

“Martin Harris was in fact bleeding from the chest, profusely…[and] had a large stab wound to the center of his chest,” the detective related.

“He said after he was stabbed he tried to seek medical attention and Mr. VanFleet would not allow him to leave in order to get help,” Donahue said.

Health official urges spring breakers to test before, after trip

JACKSON (WNE) — With spring break coming up, Teton County health officials are encouraging residents who plan to travel to do so safely, which includes getting tested a few days before leaving and again after returning home.

“This is the time to consider travel very carefully,” Dr. Travis Riddell, the Teton District health officer, said during Friday’s community COVID-19 briefing.

Also at the update, Riddell reported a local uptick in new infections. In the two-week period ending Thursday, Teton County saw 132 new cases, up 110% from the previous two-week period, he said.

As for traveling, Riddell noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages even vaccinated people to delay nonessential trips, as travel increases one’s risk of spreading and getting the disease.

CDC recommendations for those who go anyway, he said, include getting fully vaccinated and getting tested one to three days before travel.

He recommended the Vault test, which can be ordered online or picked up at the Teton County Health Department and done at home.

Even vaccinated people need to be tested, because there’s not enough data about post-vaccine transmission.

“Yes, the vaccine will prevent you from getting hospitalized or worse,” Riddell said, “but we can’t say for sure yet, especially given the presence of these variants, that getting vaccinated will prevent you from spreading the virus, perhaps without having symptoms.”

LCCC closes auto body repair program

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Laramie County Community College’s decision to deactivate its automotive body repair program is raising concerns with some industry partners, who say it’s one more blow to an industry already struggling to find talent.

Last week, the LCCC Board of Trustees voted to close the program at the end of this school year, citing low enrollment, the expensive nature of the program and lower starting wages than those in comparable technical fields. Fewer than 12 students have enrolled in the auto body repair program since 2019, and only a total of four students have enrolled during the 2020-21 school year.

LCCC President Joe Schaffer estimated that deactivating the program will save the college roughly $200,000, which he said the college intends to reallocate toward building its manufacturing program offerings. Right now, the college does not offer a degree program in the area.

David Robinette, the Northwest regional business development principal for the Inter-industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, which has provided the curriculum to LCCC’s program, said the deactivation is just one of several “unfortunate” auto body repair program closures he’s seen across the Mountain West over the past few years.

“We can’t keep closing these schools, because we’re in a critical state in the collision industry with a shortage of new entry-level technicians coming in. They’re not coming in as fast as the retirees are coming out,” Robinette said. 

Two arrested with eight pounds of pot

GILLETTE (WNE) — Two Wisconsin men were arrested on drug charges Tuesday morning after being caught with 8 pounds of marijuana.

A Campbell County Sheriff’s Office deputy patrolling Highway 50 saw a white 2018 Nissan Maxima going 89 mph in a 70 mph zone. The deputy followed the car and pulled it over near Red Hills Road. A drug dog indicated drugs were in the car, and more than 8 pounds of marijuana was found in the trunk, said Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds.

The two men seemed nervous and their stories did not match up, Reynolds said. The driver, Dwayne Hardwick, 37, told deputies they were coming from California, while the passenger, Eric Johnson, 39, said they were on vacation and were driving back to Wisconsin from Las Vegas.

Both men were arrested for felony possession of marijuana and possession with intent to deliver.

Reynolds said the deputy observed that because of the amount of marijuana, he believed they were intending to deliver it and that it was not just for recreational use. The marijuana was in various forms, including in vacuum-sealed bags that weighed more than 1 pound each, 25 unused packages labeled “Hawaiian Root,” one large joint and one THC vape oil cartridge.

Total weight of the drugs found is more than 8 pounds, Reynolds said.

Both men appeared before Circuit Court Judge Paul Phillips on Wednesday afternoon for their initial appearance. Their bonds were both set at $10,000, cash surety.

Cody sex offender sentenced to 25-30 years

CODY (WNE) — A Cody sex offender was sentenced to 25-30 years in prison after pleading guilty to first degree sexual assault of a minor, last week in Park County.

Brannon Aune, 28, a Cody resident, was already serving 10 years supervised probation for a 2018 third degree sexual assault sentence in Sheridan County when he was arrested in June 2020 by Cody police for the first degree sexual assault. He will serve 10-15 years concurrently in Sheridan for breaking his probation there.

In that case, Aune attempted to rape a female when she had gone to Aune’s house in Sheridan County for a babysitting interview in 2017.

This prior crime was slightly reduced on his record, which took the life imprisonment possibility off the table, Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield said. The plea deal was approved by Hot Springs County District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield, who presided for District Court Judge Bill Simpson who recused himself.

In March 2019, Aune had his probation from the Sheridan offense challenged after allegedly committing a series of probation violations and then resisting arrest by an officer at his home.

Aune made a request to reintegrate with his children in August 2018, but in January 2019, he was terminated from his mental health counseling at Yellowstone Behavioral Health Center for missing appointments.

His probation was not revoked after these charges were made.

In 2010, he was tried as an adult for robbery with a deadly weapon. He completed his probation for the crime in 2016.

Sheridan, Gillette colleges to hold in-person graduations

SHERIDAN (WNE) — After coping with restrictions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for over a year, commencement celebrations at Sheridan College are going live.

That was the message of Northern Wyoming Community College District President Walter Tribley to the district’s board of trustees during its regular monthly meeting Tuesday, in Sheridan.

According to a prepared statement released by district officials at Tuesday night’s meeting, students, faculty, friends and family will gather for graduation ceremonies at the Sheridan campus at 1 p.m. May 1 at the Bruce Hoffman Golden Dome.

The college’s nursing and dental hygiene programs will be holding “pinning” ceremonies earlier that day at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively, in Kinnison Hall at the Whitney Center for the Arts.

Commencement exercises at Gillette College will be held a day earlier at 7 p.m. April 30 in the Pronghorn Center.

“It’s been one long year,” Tribley told board members. “This should be fun coming together for our students.”

To comply with statewide event restrictions on capacity, each student will receive four guest tickets for the commencement exercise. The wearing of masks at the events will still be encouraged but not required.

Until graduation, however, Tribley said the district will continue to follow “strict” and “stringent” pandemic protocols to protect students and staff and to ensure the continuation of classes. He added those protocols can be relaxed for commencement, as graduating students will be moving on and not returning to the local campus.

First sighting of Yellowstone bear reported

CODY (WNE) — The bears are waking up.

A pilot supporting Yellowstone National Park wildlife studies saw the first grizzly bear of 2021 on Saturday.

From the air, the pilot watched the bear interact with wolves at a carcass in the northern part of the park. This is the first sighting of a grizzly bear this year, although tracks have been seen on several occasions in the last two weeks.

The first bear sighting of 2020 occurred on March 7.

Male grizzlies come out of hibernation in early March. Females with cubs emerge in April and early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter. Sometimes, bears will react aggressively while feeding on carcasses.

“When bears first emerge from hibernation, they look for carcasses at lower elevations and spring vegetation in thermal meadows and south-facing slopes or nourishment,” said Kerry Gunther, the park’s bear management biologist.

While firearms are allowed in the park, the discharge of a firearm by visitors is a violation of park regulations. Bear spray has proven effective in deterring bears defending cubs and food sources. It can also reduce the number of bears killed by people in self-defense.