Wyoming News Briefs

Man arrested for sixth DUI one month into probation for fifth DUI could get up to 7 years

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who pleaded guilty to his sixth DUI offense could face six to seven years in prison.

Jude Armijo, 32, reached a plea deal where he’ll plead guilty to felony DUI, and the state will recommend a six-to seven-year prison sentence to run concurrent to a five-year sentence for violating his probation.

At the time of his sixth DUI, Armijo was just one month into a five-year probation that he’d been sentenced to following his fifth DUI.

On the morning of July 28, police went to the parking lot between Dairy Queen and Las Margaritas for a red Hyundai that was stopped in the middle of the roadway. A man, later identified as Armijo, was passed out in the driver’s seat. He had his seatbelt on, and the engine was running. There was an open container of Modelo in a cup holder.

Officers tried knocking on the window and moving the car back and forth to get Armijo’s attention but he did not wake up. An officer opened the door and was eventually able to get him to wake up. He smelled of alcohol and spoke in very slow, slurred speech. He admitted to drinking three six-packs of beer and said he was not safe to drive, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

At the time of this arrest, Armijo had five DUI convictions, including two in 2019 in Big Horn County, Montana; one in October 2020 in Yellowstone County, Montana; one in July 2021 in Johnson County; and one in June 2024 in Campbell County.

For the June conviction, Armijo had been sentenced to five to seven years, suspended for five years of supervised probation.

Man allegedly stole truck in Gillette, got into high-speed chase in Torrington and Nebraska

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who stole a work truck from a Campbell County business and took it on a high-speed chase through Torrington and western Nebraska in October 2023 has been charged with felony theft.

Nestor Alonzo Munoz-Chavez, 35, waived his preliminary hearing Nov. 5 and was bound over to District Court.

On Oct. 2, 2023, a man called the Sheriff’s Office to report that a work truck, a 2019 Chevy Duramax pickup, had been stolen from RMS Energy Services in Gillette.

A GPS showed the pickup was in Geering, Nebraska. The man had been contacted by a trooper with Nebraska Highway Patrol, who said he’d been in a pursuit with the stolen truck near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The truck, driven by Munoz-Chavez, had been involved in a high-speed pursuit with the Torrington Police Department and the Mitchell Police Department in Mitchell, Nebraska.

The trooper took over the pursuit once it left Mitchell city limits, and the Scottsbluff Police Department deployed spike strips on the truck, deflating three tires. The truck continued on one good tire for 9 miles until its control arm broke, causing it to stop.

Munoz-Chavez wouldn’t get out of the truck or respond to police commands, and troopers deployed a pepper ball into the truck and took Chavez into custody. He had no ID on him and told law enforcement that he was a homeless man from Mexico. He said he stole the truck from “New England, South Dakota,” according to court documents.

The business owner told deputies that Munoz-Chavez did not work for him and that Chavez did not have permission to take the truck, which was valued between $31,725 and $35,000.

Man who stole hundreds of packages from UPS to plead guilty

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who stole hundreds of packages from a UPS facility because it made him “feel alive” has reached a plea deal.

In a plea agreement, Larry Munday, 53, will plead guilty to felony theft, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ketamine, and the state will drop a charge of cultivating marijuana.

The state also will recommend Munday serve a five- to seven-year prison sentence for the theft charge, and two- to three-year sentences for the ketamine and gun charges, all to run concurrent to each other.

On June 12, an investigator with the sheriff’s office spoke with the local UPS manager, who said that more than 100 packages had gone missing from the facility in the past two weeks. He said the missing packages all had been placed on a package car for overnight storage.

In total, 109 packages had gone missing from UPS since June 3.

The packages went missing at night, and the manager suspected a contract employee who worked evenings of stealing them.

Cameras were set up on the package car and around UPS property. As packages continued to go missing, the cameras captured Munday, a contract cleaner, going through packages on several occasions and subsequently putting white trash bags into his pickup. 

Deputies got a search warrant for Munday’s home, where they found UPS bags and packages. 

He told deputies that he began stealing packages in December 2023. A package had fallen off of a UPS truck, and he kept it. This was during the Christmas season. He said he didn’t have any friends or family he spent time with and stealing the package made him feel like someone had given it to him, according to court documents.

Things “spiraled” from there, he told investigators, and he started stealing more frequently. When asked how many packages he’d stolen, he estimated it’d been more than 150 in the last two weeks, according to court documents.

Fearnow found not guilty

SHERIDAN (WNE) — After a four-day trial and nearly four hours of deliberation, a jury found Kyle Fearnow not guilty of strangulation of a household member and not guilty of domestic battery.

Strangulation of a household member could have been a felony charge with a sentence of imprisonment for up to ten years and a fine of not more than $10,000 or both. Domestic battery, a misdemeanor, is punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than $750 or both.

State attorney Christopher LaRosa and defense attorney Christina Cherni made their closing arguments in the 4th Judicial District Court Friday morning.

Both reviewed audio recordings of the 911 phone calls made on April 29, phone call recordings between Fearnow and the victim while he was incarcerated and the injury photos shown in court.

LaRosa emphasized the images of the victim that revealed her injuries from the evening of April 29, while Cherni stressed that Fearnow was the one who called police.

She asked the jury, if he was guilty of strangulation and battery, why would he be the one to call the cops? 

According to the victim, on the evening of April 29, the two fought because she changed her relationship status on Facebook from “dating” to “single.” Fearnow became angry very quickly and the situation escalated, she said. Fearnow was accused of strangling her by the throat.

According to Fearnow, the victim accused him of talking to other women. The couple argued, and Fearnow said the victim threatened to kill him with a kitchen knife. He wrestled her to the ground and punched her until she dropped the knife. Then he left the apartment and called 911, Fearnow said.

Biden approves major disaster declaration for Wyoming after wildfires

CHEYENNE (WNE) — FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Wyoming to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires from Aug. 21-31. 

Public assistance federal funding is available to the state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the wildfires in Campbell and Johnson counties.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. 

Dolph A. Diemont has been named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Additional designations may be made at a later date, if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further assessments.

State releases October 2024 edition of Wyoming Insight

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Both sales tax and mining collections in the Cowboy State decreased over the last year, according to Wyoming Insight, which serves as an energy index and business indicators report for the state.

Total sales and use tax collections in October totaled $91.9 million, $1.9 million (-2.0%) less than October last year. 

“Sales & use tax collections have declined year-over-year in five of the last eight months,” said Dylan Bainer, principal economist for Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division, in a news release. 

Collections from the mining sector saw the largest decrease, down 30.1% year-over-year. This is the third consecutive month that collections from the mining sector have declined by more than 25% year-over-year.

However, Wyoming also saw an increase in jobs. Employment in Wyoming totaled 294,800 jobs in September, 2,900 (+1.0%) more than September last year. 

“Total employment continues to increase year-over-year, but at a slowing rate,” said Bainer. 

Private education and health added the most jobs in September, up 1000 jobs compared to September 2023.

According to this month’s issue of Insight, natural gas prices are still hovering around $2/ MMBtu and oil prices are increasing. The October 2024 natural gas price at the Opal Hub averaged $2.30 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), $0.44 more than last month. The Henry Hub natural gas price averaged $2.20/MMBtu in October, $0.08 less than last month.

The West Texas Intermediate monthly average price for crude oil was $71.99 per bbl. in October, 16.1% less than a year ago. 

Average active oil rigs were 12 in October, and the conventional gas rig count was four.

The October 2024 issue of Wyoming Insight is available at the state of Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division website, ai.wyo.gov/divisions/ economic-analysis. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/ Wyo-Insight-10-24.

Sheridan school board discusses six resolutions put forward to WSBA

SHERIDAN (WNE) —- A voting delegate from Sheridan County School District 3 will present six resolutions put forward by Wyoming school districts at the upcoming Wyoming School Board Association delegate assembly. 

The assembly is scheduled for Nov. 20-22 in Casper.

Board Treasurer Deborah Guyer is the designated voting delegate for school district 3.

The resolutions, each put forward by a Wyoming school district, will be voted on by delegates at the WSBA assembly to set legislative and position platforms for the upcoming 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions.

Three of the resolutions concern granting local school boards the authority to create their own security management plans and maintain control over policies regarding the concealed carry of guns in their districts.

The other three resolutions seek the WSBA support for curriculum transparency measures between schools and the community; the classification of all students transferring from enrollment in the district to homeschool; and a change in the date required for staff resigning their positions to give written notice from May 15 to April 15. 

Lummis slams BLM’s Greater sage-grouse plan

CHEYENNE (WNE) — On Friday, Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Congressional Western Caucus Chair Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., released a statement after the Bureau of Land Management released its final Greater Sage-Grouse Rangewide Planning Resource Management Plan.

“This Greater sage-grouse plan will have wide-reaching impacts on farmers, ranchers and landowners across the West whose livelihoods depend on responsible management of federal lands,” Lummis said, according to a caucus news release. “Instead of trusting states like Wyoming that have proven expertise in sage-grouse management, the Biden-Harris administration is making a last-ditch effort to exert more control over the West. I am confident the Trump administration will begin work on day one to correct the wrongdoings of this administration and properly restore the role of states in managing their own wildlife populations.”

“The Biden Administration is firing another salvo in their war against public lands across the west,” said Newhouse.

This plan will impact sage-grouse habitats in Wyoming, California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Gas prices down another 4.5 cents per gallon in the past week

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 4.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.02 on Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.

Prices in Wyoming are 13.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 26.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.59 per gallon, while the highest was $3.47, a difference of 88 cents per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 0.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.02 on Monday. The national average is down 15.2 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands 27.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.