Wyoming News Briefs

Gasoline prices drop again, average now at $2.87 per gallon in Wyoming

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 2.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.87 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.

Prices in Wyoming are 14.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.29 per gallon, while the highest was $3.49, a difference of $1.20 per gallon.

The national average price of gasoline has risen 0.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.98 on Monday. The national average is down 7.5 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands 7.1 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.

Two teens arrested for allegedly pointing guns at another teen

GILLETTE (WNE) — Two teens were arrested for aggravated assault early Sunday morning for allegedly following another teen and pointing guns at him.

Police had gotten a call from an 18-year-old man who said a group of teens were following him in the area of Overlook Park and pointing guns at him, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.

Officers learned that four teens were involved in a dispute with the reporting teen, and after seeing him, chased and tried to block his escape. The victim said he was standing outside when two of the teens, Nathan Posse and Hunter Valconesi, pointed guns at him as they sat in the back seat of a 2011 Ford, Wasson said.

He said they pointed the guns at him for 20 minutes before he called the police.

Officers located the teens, searched the vehicle and found four handguns.

Police arrested Posse and Valconesi for aggravated assault, a felony. The driver, a 19-year-old man, was ticketed for reckless endangerment.

Couple arrested for drug-endangered child after report of drug overdose

GILLETTE (WNE) — A couple was arrested shortly after midnight Monday and charged with endangering a child by exposing him or her to drugs, which is a felony. 

Police officers responded to a report of a drug overdose in a home in the 2300 block of Cascade Avenue, according to Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.

Officers found an unconscious 36-year-old man in a garage, lying next to drug paraphernalia. They administered Narcan and revived him, and he was taken to the hospital. The man’s girlfriend, a 35-year-old woman, and their 2-year-old girl were in the home, and the woman let police search the home.

Inside, they found unidentified pills, crystal meth, liquid meth, fentanyl and steroids.

The man, Joshua Cunningham, and the woman, Josie Williams, were arrested for drug-endangered child. Cunningham was also charged with possession and use of meth, possession of fentanyl and possession of Schedule IV drugs.

The girl was taken into protective custody.

One dead following stabbing incident; suspect in custody

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man is dead following a stabbing incident Thursday in the 2000 block of Mary Way, and a suspect has been taken into custody, according to the Laramie County Sheriff ’s Office.

The suspect, Joseph Gish, was taken into custody at the scene and charged with felony voluntary manslaughter.

Officers responded to a south Cheyenne mobile home park at approximately 7:27 p.m. Thursday for a physical domestic disturbance with a knife. 

According to a booking sheet, Gish was armed with a 4-inch folding pocket knife. Prior to the deputies’ arrival, the victim was transported to the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Gish told detectives that he was using the knife in self-defense and did not intentionally stab the victim. He told detectives that he did, however, feel the victim was a threat to him and his daughter’s life. 

Gish did not suffer any visible injuries, according to the booking sheet. 

The investigation remains active, and more information will be provided as it becomes available, according to Public Information Officer Brandon Warner.

Rock Springs man pleads guilty to second degree murder 

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — A Rock Springs man originally charged with first degree murder in the 2023 stabbing death of another local man changed his plea on Friday, Dec. 6.

William Thomas Brewer, 33, admitted during his change of plea hearing in the Sweetwater County Third District Court that he stabbed Colter Watsabaugh to death on July 16, 2023.

Brewer was originally charged with first degree murder and concealing the body. 

In return for Brewer’s guilty plea to the lesser charge of second degree murder, Sweetwater County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Erramouspe dropped the concealing charge as well as the habitual criminal enhancement.

Brewer will be sentenced at a later date. 

Erramouspe, according to the plea agreement, will argue for a 75-100 year prison sentence. 

According to the court affidavit, Sweetwater County Sheriff ’s Office Det. Matthew Wharton on July 16, 2023, received information about a body found by Tri-State Road near Reliance. When he responded to the area, Watsabaugh’s body was found face down and partially buried underneath dirt, sticks and plant material.

Wharton saw the victim had been stabbed multiple times on his torso and head. The coroner determined Watsabaugh died from a puncture wound to his right lung, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Brewer met up with Watsabaugh prior to the murder to question him about a missing Nintendo Switch. When Brewer was driving Watsabaugh back to his room, Brewer admitted to having a relationship with Watsabaugh’s girlfriend; a short argument ensued, and Brewer pulled his knife and stabbed Watsabaugh. Brewer stated he pulled his knife when he saw Watsabaugh had a knife. 

Shortly after the discovery of Watsabaugh’s body, Brewer turned himself in to the Sheriff ’s Office “for doing something bad,” indicating he had killed Watsabaugh.

Cowboy Clean Fuels partners with Upton company to transport feedstock for carbon capture project

GILLETTE (WNE) — Cowboy Clean Fuels, a climate tech and energy transition company based in Campbell County, has partnered with Tiger Transfer, LLC, to support Cowboy Clean Fuel’s feedstock transportation in Wyoming.

The collaboration centers on seven acres leased at the Upton Logistics Center, which is owned and operated by Tiger Transfer.

The newly leased site includes a rail spur with a 13-car capacity and a digital scale, enabling Cowboy to efficiently store and transport molasses and other feedstock from sugar beet refineries across the Northern Rockies and Great Plains.

The molasses will then be trucked to Cowboy’s Triangle Unit project location in southern Campbell County. Since commencing commercial operations in June, Cowboy has already injected more than 1,000 metric tons of molasses into the ground and is poised to scale operations significantly in 2025 and beyond.

Cowboy Clean Fuels, formed in 2020, combines highly durable carbon dioxide removal with the generation of carbon-negative renewable natural gas from depleted coal-bed methane wells in the Powder River Basin.

The project injects molasses into coal seams more than 1,000 feet below the surface. Microbes in the coal seams consume the molasses, producing renewable methane and carbon dioxide.

The carbon dioxide is permanently captured and stored in the coal seams, and the renewable natural gas is brought to the surface and transported using existing pipelines.

In January, the Wyoming Energy Authority provided $7.8 million in matching funds for the Triangle Unit project, which has been operating commercially since June. Cowboy Clean Fuels is buying molasses from sugar beet refineries in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and Idaho.

The Upton Logistics Center is strategically located on BNSF’s double-track mainline, making it an ideal partner for Cowboy Clean Fuel’s feedstock transportation needs.

Once it’s operating at full scale, Cowboy’s Triangle Unit project could process up to 250,000 metric tons of feedstock a year.

Sheridan man files motion to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charge

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Sheridan resident Cody McCalla faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after allegedly killing 48-year-old Patrick Mudd during a fight on Fifth Street July 12 at the Sheridan WYO Rodeo. 

A motion to dismiss the case was filed Nov. 6.

According to the motion to dismiss document, McCalla acted in self-defense and had no duty to retreat because Mudd was the initial aggressor.

McCalla parked his truck on a public street, and Mudd allegedly jumped out of his car, calling McCalla and his friend profanities and claiming they stole his parking spot, according to the document.

According to court documents, Mudd approached McCalla on the sidewalk and began punching him.  He threw McCalla to the ground where he continued to punch him. 

When McCalla regained his footing, Mudd continued to behave in a way that caused McCalla to believe Mudd’s attack was not over.

According to the motion, the case should be dismissed according to Wyoming statute, which states that “the use of defensive force whether actual or threatened, is reasonable when it is the defensive force that a reasonable person in like circumstances would judge necessary to prevent an injury or loss, and no more, including deadly force if necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury to the person employing the deadly force or to another person.”

The state objected to McCalla’s motion Nov. 14 and requested it be set for an evidentiary hearing, at which the defendant must first show that the immunity provision applies based on a first impression. 

A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for Jan. 30, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Involuntary manslaughter is a felony charge punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment or a maximum fine of $10,000 or both.

Bill that would give Mills a unique ZIP code advances to U.S. Senate

CASPER (WNE) — A bill that would give the town of Mills a unique ZIP code is one step closer to passage after it cleared the House of Representatives. 

H.R. 8753, sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., gives 31 communities across the United State their own ZIP code. 

That includes Mills, a fast-growing bedroom community west of the Casper metro area with a population of just over 4,500. Mills was the only Wyoming community on the list. 

The bill passed the House Wednesday and is headed to the Senate. 

Wyoming’s sole Representative, Harriet Hageman, is listed as a cosponsor of the bill . 

“Communities lacking a unique ZIP Code often experience a host of issues that extend beyond just the delivery of mail and can impact everything from economic development to emergency response,” Hageman said. 

Hageman added that the lack of a unique designation in Mills has “caused issues with residential mail delivery, loss of property tax revenue and franchise fees and incorrect census accounts.” 

These issues pose significant challenges as the community continues to grow, develop and attract new residents across Wyoming and beyond, according to the Representative. 

Data from the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division in May revealed that Mills was the fastest growing town in the Cowboy State in 2023 — with over 2% growth between 2022 and 2023.