Wyoming News Briefs

Gillette woman, former CCH consultant, ordered to prison and $172K restitution

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette woman and former Campbell County Health public relations consultant, Alexa Kinney, was sentenced to nearly three years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for federal charges related to defrauding multiple victims and making false claims to the Internal Revenue Service.

She was sentenced Thursday in Casper before U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson.

Kinney was arrested in October on charges related to fraudulent investment opportunities, unauthorized use of a credit card and making false claims to the IRS over the course of a roughly one-year span from 2019 through early 2020.

She was given three 33-month sentences to run concurrently, along with three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $172,400 in restitution.

An IRS investigation found that Kinney persuaded a Cheyenne woman in August 2019 to give her $165,000 on the promise it would be invested and mature to $280,000 within a couple of months, according to court documents. She never invested the money.

“Kinney took the inheritance of one of her victims and spent it on personal expenses within five weeks that included past lawyer fees, hotel stays, spa treatments and paying past victims of other schemes,” said Supervisory Special Agent James Marcy of the IRS Criminal Investigations Denver Field Office.

In March 2019, Kinney conned a man she met on a dating app out of about $6,200 after first promising him legal services, then using his credit card for her own personal use, according to court documents.

In April 2020, she had applied for a $1,200 Economic Impact payment, or stimulus check, but had not filed a 2019 tax form, claiming to have made less than the required $12,200 income.

Precinct of 1 voter: Laramie County now has 2 such districts

CHEYENNE (WNE) — As of early May, two precincts in Laramie County had only one registered voter in them. 

While numbers may change before the primary election on Aug. 16, the anomaly is an on-the-ground representation of challenges facing election officials in Wyoming. It also is a situation that isn’t unique to the county in which the state Capitol sits. 

“You take a census block, and there are 35 people in it, but that includes children up to adults. It is possible that you may have one, two or three voters in there, and the rest of the people that are part of that census block are not voters,” explained Mary Lankford with the County Clerks’ Association of Wyoming. 

During the post-2020 census redistricting process in the most recent legislative session, lawmakers spent hours discussing “split ballots,” where a precinct boundary is split by redistricting lines, creating the need for a second ballot for that area. 

While a precinct with one registered voter in it is not the same as a split ballot, it does call into question that voter’s right to confidentiality. 

“It has to do with the protection of that voter’s secret ballot. You generate one voter in an area, and you know how he has voted when you tally votes. It is a big deal when you only have a few people in a district,” Lankford said. 

Precincts are determined every two years based on previous voter data, and must be approved by Wyoming’s county commissioners, Lankford said. 

On May 4, the Laramie County Board of Commissioners approved a list of 40 precincts, two with only one registered voter – Republicans, in both cases – in them.

Man pleads not guilty to domestic violence, contempt charges

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Darren Tipton, 28, pleaded not guilty to domestic-violence-related and contempt charges before 4th Judicial District Court Judge Darci Phillips Thursday. 

Court documents allege Tipton strangled a household member, a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both, and committed domestic battery against the same victim, a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, a $750 fine or both. 

Tipton pleaded not guilty to both charges. The defendant’s three-day trial is scheduled for Oct. 24, with a pretrial conference Sept. 22. 

In addition to these criminal allegations, Tipton faces an allegation of indirect criminal contempt from the prosecution. 

Deputy Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney Christina White alleged the defendant had been in “constant communication” with the victim in his case, which White stated was both a violation of Tipton’s bond conditions and an attempt to intimidate the victim due to the volume of calls. 

In district court, the state may charge contempt as either a felony or a misdemeanor, and White said she had not yet decided which kind of charge she would pursue in this case. Phillips explained misdemeanor contempt is punishable by up to six months in jail while felony contempt has no set punishment; the court determines what length of sentence to impose. 

Tipton pleaded not guilty to the contempt allegations. The matter will likely be set for a one-day bench or jury trial. 

“The state has issued its cautionary warning that no contact means no contact,” Phillips reminded Tipton.

Deputy shooting lawsuit may have settlement

LARAMIE (WNE) —A settlement appears to have been reached in a civil lawsuit brought against Albany County law enforcement officers involved in the 2018 shooting death of Robbie Ramirez. 

Records filed with the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne show that a verbal notice of settlement was made to the court May 2, though no additional paperwork had been filed. 

Ramirez’s mother, Debra Hinkel, filed the wrongful death lawsuit Sept. 1, 2020. 

In 2019, a grand jury declined to indict former Albany County Sheriff ’s Deputy Derek Colling of manslaughter in Ramirez’s death. Colling killed Ramirez by shooting him three times during a traffic stop in 2018. Two of the bullets struck Ramirez in the back. 

Hinkel, along with community advocates, has maintained that the killing was an unjustified use of force against her son, who was unarmed and struggled with mental illness. 

The lawsuit also claims Colling has a history of excessive use of force, which the sheriff at the time, David O’Malley, has been accused of overlooking. 

The killing ignited protests and local events demanding Colling be fired and for local law enforcement to employ safer practices.

O’Malley retired from his position in November 2020. Colling also resigned from the Sheriff ’s Office in spring 2021. 

In March, Hinkel claimed in court filings that video evidence submitted from Colling’s body camera after the shooting was intentionally altered to omit the last five seconds of footage. The video submitted in response to the lawsuit also has no sound and ends a second before Colling begins shooting Ramirez. 

As of Tuesday, Roy Jacobson, a member of Hinkel’s legal team, said it was not at liberty to discuss the potential settlement beyond what’s reflected in the court record.

Pinedale school board halts national school board funding

PINEDALE (WNE) — In a vote of no confidence for the National School Board Association, the Sublette County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees unanimously approved a motion at its May 12 meeting to withdraw all local funding for the organization. 

SCSD1 pays approximately $2600 per year in direct dues to the NSBA, according to an invoice submitted to the district. 

A minimal fraction of the dues SCSD1 contributes annually to the Wyoming School Boards Association also goes to the NSBA. 

The motion removed SCSD1 from all financial obligations to the NSBA. The language included direct dues along with money paid indirectly through the district’s annual membership fees to the WSBA. 

SCSD1’s goal behind the vote was to remain consistent in its message that none of the district’s money is going to the NSBA, said board chairman Jamison Ziegler. The district is still a member of the WSBA. 

Trustee Charles Prior, who made the motion, said he believes the NSBA was “not going in the direction of parents and that the schools should be going.” 

Barrasso to address only graduate of Classical Academy

JACKSON (WNE) — The valley’s newest private school, Jackson Hole Classical Academy, only has one graduate this year, but she’s getting a senator’s farewell.

Sarah Tallerico will walk across the Classical Academy stage on June 3, and U.S. Senator John Barrasso, who recommended Tallerico for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, is expected to give the commencement address.

“Sarah has shown she is highly motivated and possesses the strong leadership skills needed to succeed,” Barrasso said in a statement last December. “It’s an honor to nominate her, and I am confident that if she is offered an appointment, she will represent the Cowboy State well.”

Barrasso will be joined at the ceremony by Dr. Mark Johnson, civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army in Wyoming and Wyoming state coordinator on the West Point Field Force, who will personally present Tallerico with her official appointment papers to the prestigious academy.

In a statement to the Classical Academy, Tallerico said she hopes to become an orthopedic surgeon for the U.S. Army.

The straight A student earned a perfect score on her ACT exam and said she formed strong relationships with her Jackson teachers.

Last year, Classical Academy celebrated its first three graduates at the private school’s first graduation ceremony.