Wyoming News Briefs

UW football recruit shot, killed

CASPER (WNE) — A member of Wyoming’s 2021 football recruiting class was shot and killed at a Dallas-area hotel over the weekend.

Police responded to a shooting call at approximately 1:35 a.m. Central Time on Sunday at the Hawthorn Suites near the Dallas Love Field Airport, where they learned Tony Evans Jr. had been shot inside room 221. Evans was transported to a hospital and later pronounced dead, according to the Dallas Police Department.

Evans was 17 years old.

The Dallas Morning News, which first reported the incident, reported there was another victim in stable condition. Police did not identify that person.

No one was immediately taken into custody, and the motive for the homicide remains unknown.

In a statement, the UW football program said it was “saddened” to learn the news of Evans’ death.

“Our hearts are with the Evans family as they go through this incredibly difficult time,” said UW coach Craig Bohl, who was on Tulsa’s coaching staff when Evans’ father played for the Golden Hurricane in the 1980s. “We are so sad to hear of Tony’s passing. We have been in contact with Tony’s family and are here to support them in any way we can.”

Evans signed with UW in February. A wide receiver for Lancaster (Texas) High, Evans was high school teammates with another UW signee, DQ James.

Man sentenced on multiple felonies

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man charged with multiple felonies, including sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated burglary with a weapon, pleaded no contest Thursday morning in Laramie County District Court.

Charged in four separate cases, David Isaac Rutherford entered no-contest pleas to felony sexual exploitation of a child (using a child to make pornography), felony aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon, felony stalking (probation violation) and two felony counts of interference with a peace officer with injury, as part of a stipulated plea agreement.

Additional charges – felony burglary, two counts of felony interference with a peace officer with injury, 21 counts of felony sexual exploitation of a child (possessing child pornography), and misdemeanor charges of property destruction and violation of a stalking protection order – will be dismissed at sentencing as part of the agreement.

If the agreement is followed at sentencing, Rutherford would receive five years of supervised probation, with a suspended sentence of eight to 12 years in prison.

In the child sexual exploitation case, a Laramie County Sheriff’s deputy found 22 pornographic images of an underage girl on Rutherford’s cellphone while investigating a stalking case against him. The girl said she was 17 when the photos were taken, while Rutherford was 18, according to court documents.

In the aggravated burglary case, a Laramie County Sheriff’s deputy determined Rutherford had broken into two campers at the Terry Bison Ranch dry storage area and taken several items, including a handgun.

Sale of Disney ranch moves ahead

CASPER (WNE) — Trustees for Bradford Lund, the grandson of legendary animator and producer Walt Disney, have reportedly negotiated the sale of a family ranch outside Jackson against Lund’s wishes. 

For months, Lund has been locked in a legal battle with his own trustees over Eagle South Fork, the 110-acre ranch in Teton County left to Lund and his twin sister, Michelle, by their father.

Now, Lund’s legal team says the trustees have entered into a contract with an unidentified buyer — a different buyer than the one originally interested in the ranch. 

The property is set to sell for $35 million, according to a letter sent to Lund and his sister on March 22. That’s the commercial valuation of the land, which suggests it may be subdivided and sold as parcels if the sale goes through.

Trustees entered into a contract for sale with the new buyer on March 18, the letter says. 

In January, trustees told Lund he could pay just over $34 million (which they referred to as a “discounted price,” despite the residential appraisal of his portion of the land coming in at under $10 million) to retain ownership of his half of the ranch. 

Michelle Lund was reportedly not interested in keeping her share. 

Lund’s legal team argues he shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for property already owned by his own trust — a trust that, by law, is supposed to act according to his interests.

Cheyenne Frontier Days unveils all-country concert lineup

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The day after announcing this summer’s event will take place at full capacity and without masks, Cheyenne Frontier Days announced the 2021 Frontier Nights entertainment lineup.

Professional Bull Riders will return this summer with its exclusive Last Cowboy Standing series (July 26-27), complementing the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association day-time rodeo (July 24-Aug. 1) in the arena.

The entertainers added to the previously incomplete 2021 lineup are Garth Brooks with Ned LeDoux; Cody Johnson with Aaron Watson; Maren Morris with TBA; and Kane Brown with Restless Road. Blake Shelton with John King; Eric Church with Ashely McBryde; and Thomas Rhett with Rhett Akins were rescheduled from 2020. Contract Acts Committee chairman Randy Krafft said the committee reached out to artists of other genres, but was unable to find any non-country artists willing to perform this summer.

“A lot of that came down to just availability of the artists,” he said. “The country artists seemed more eager to get on the road. Most hip-hop and rock artists, from what we’re seeing, they’re planning more of a fall tour, so the availability was not there.”

He noted that the committee was “looking to keep that mixture they normally bring,” but it simply didn’t work out.

Gillette man pleads guilty in fentanyl case

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man found with more than 1000 pills containing fentanyl will spend eight to 10 years in prison if a sentencing recommendation is followed.

Joseph Laray Speigelmyer, 28, pleaded guilty in March to delivering fentanyl and possession with intent to deliver fentanyl.

It was part of a plea agreement in which two other counts of delivering fentanyl were dismissed and imposed concurrent sentences of eight to ten years on each will be recommended. He can argue for less.

Speigelmyer became a suspect in the fall after agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation learned that he allegedly had been the source of counterfeit Oxycodone pills that contained fentanyl. Four pills were found in a vehicle whose driver was seen meeting briefly with Speigelmyer on Oct. 20 and then stopped by DCI, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Fentanyl has become a concern in the community after a number of overdose deaths attributed to the strong and lethal drug that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem has attributed seven deaths to fentanyl over the past 16 months.

DCI got a search warrant Oct. 22 for Speigelmyer’s home on University Road and found three pill bottles in a backpack in his bedroom. 

In all, the pills weighed 203 grams, which was estimated by weight to be about 1388 pills, said Louey Williams, team leader with the Northeast Wyoming Drug Task Force through DCI. Combined with those that he is accused of selling to confidential sources, it puts the number at more than 1400.