Supreme Court denies appeal in possession case

The Wyoming Supreme Court has denied a Newcastle man’s appeal against his sentence on possession charges after illegal substances were found in his vehicle during a traffic stop in Crook County.

David Garrison pleaded guilty to one count of possession of marijuana as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced by Judge Stuart S. Healy III in November, 2022 to between one and three years in a state penal institution and a fine of $500.

On January 3, 2022, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop on Garrison’s vehicle on Highway 16. The trooper noted in his report that the vehicle did not pull over until it had traveled another half mile; when it did so, he recognized Garrison from previous contact and knew him to be an abuser of controlled substances, including marijuana and meth.

A K-9 unit alerted to the odor of a controlled substance in Garrison’s vehicle. The items recovered from the vehicle were later weighed and the controlled substances were recorded as approximately 14 grams of marijuana and 13.5 grams of meth; Garrison was found to have had three known prior possessions convictions in Wyoming and South Dakota since 2014.

Garrison filed an appeal to challenge the sentence on December 9. However, on March 9, 2023, his court-appointed appellate counsel filed a motion to withdraw as counsel.

The court entered an order granting a time extension to file a Pro Se brief – the written argument as to why the court made a mistake. Garrison was given until April 24 to file the brief, but did not do so.

The Supreme Court reviewed the record and the Anders brief submitted by Garrison’s counsel. This type of brief is a legal document filed by a criminal defense attorney representing a defendant if he believes the appeal would be frivolous.

On May 10, the Supreme Court issued an order affirming Garrison’s judgement and sentence.