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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Friday Smile: December 16, 2022 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

These guys are going to be wild...

Friday Smile: December 16, 2022

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

DOUGLAS — Saying through his court-appointed public defender that he’s afraid for his life if he shows his face, a Converse County man facing 72 felony child sex and pornography charges failed to show up for his plea hearing Tuesday afternoon.

By no-showing his arraignment in Converse County District Court, John Charles Smallbone also forfeits the $250,000 cash someone posted on his behalf to get out of jail June 24. 

“I waited a couple more minutes (to begin the hearing), and your client is not here,” Judge F. Scott Peasley said to Smallbone’s public defender, Denny Harts.

“He has expressed fear for his life,” Harts responded as about 25 people gathered in the second-floor courtroom at the Converse County Justice Center. 

“I reassured him he would be safe, but he is not here,” Harts added.

Peasley then issued a new warrant for Smallbone’s arrest for missing his hearing, while Converse County Deputy Attorney Nathan Shumway said he had just filed new charges on top of the 72 Smallbone already faces.

Those new charges weren’t yet in the court system immediately after the hearing, which from start to finish took about three minutes.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On The Run"}]

Already a wanted man, Smallbone should have already been in police custody and available for Tuesday’s arraignment, Shumway said.

The prosecutor referenced an incident in Colorado last week when a 

Fort Collins magistrate allowed Smallbone to walk out

 of the Larimer County Detention Center on his own recognizance instead of holding him on a fugitive warrant out of Wyoming.

“There were issues with executing our warrant in Colorado,” Shumway said, echoing the frustration Converse County Sheriff’s Office officials have expressed since Smallbone was released on Thursday.

Instead of having a man accused of committing dozens of illegal sex acts with kids in custody, “We’re out looking for him again,” Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh 

told Cowboy State Daily after Smallbone’s Colorado release.

 “And we’re going to find him again. The freedom clock on him is running out.”

Walsh said whatever snafu allowed a wanted man to be released didn’t happen on Converse County’s end of the transaction. He was just as surprised as everyone to learn Smallbone was released.

“We’d been working with investigators there in Larimer County; we provided them with all of our warrant information, all our affidavits,” Walsh told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.

Add the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado to the list of agencies unhappy with the magistrate’s decision.

“Mr. Smallbone was taken into custody on a valid and active warrant out of Wyoming, which included dozens of allegations of sexual crimes against children,” agency spokesperson Kylie Masserman said in a Monday email to Cowboy State Daily.

Masserman confirmed Walsh’s account that “all required information to set bond was provided to the court.”

She said her office also asked Magistrate Heather Siegel to also issue a $250,000 cash-only bond for Smallbone. 

That’s because the objective was “to keep him in custody until he could be transferred back to Wyoming to face his charges,” she said in the statement. “This request was consistent with what the Wyoming authorities requested and consistent with our practices on cases of this severity.”

Masserman said that instead, the personal recognizance bond was issued “contrary to our request.”

“The District Attorney’s Office strongly believes that this bond setting is dangerous and has put the communities in both Colorado and Wyoming at risk,” she said. “Giving a free pass to dangerous out-of-state offenders fleeing to Colorado sets a terrible precedent and risks further harm to the victims in the Wyoming case.’

When contacted by Cowboy State Daily on Friday to inquire about Smallbone’s bond, a staffer in Siegel’s office said the magistrate didn’t have that paperwork in front of her at the time of the hearing.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ready For Anything"}]

Meanwhile, Converse County officials were ready and waiting in case Smallbone did show up for his Tuesday hearing, or for any trouble that might ensue because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Sheriff Clint Becker was leaning on a rail outside the justice center ahead of the scheduled hearing, flanked by five deputies. 

Three more deputies manned the security station just inside the front doors, and two Douglas cops were hanging out inside the courtroom.

While there were no emotional fireworks, Becker said he and his deputies were ready “just in case.”

It was the same inside the courtroom, which looked a bit like a shotgun wedding, with the 30 or so people watching from the gallery choosing to sit behind the prosecutor’s table.

Of the three people on the other side behind the public defender, two were reporters seated there for a better view of Smallbone in case he was in attendance.

Along with relaying his client’s fear for his life, public defender Harts also will have to continue representing Smallbone, at least for now.

While the Converse County Public Defender’s Office has filed a motion with Peasley to withdraw from the case, the judge said Tuesday he needs to talk to Smallbone in person before making a decision.

Smallbone was appointed a public defender to represent him when he was first charged with the 72 felony charges because he claimed he couldn’t afford an attorney on his own, according to the motion.

But after someone walked into the jail with a quarter of a million in cash to get him out of jail, he doesn’t qualify, the motion says.

“The defendant had the ability to post two hundred fifty thousand ($250,000) dollars cash in bond,” says the motion to reconsider the court appointment. “The defendant stated on his application for court-appointed counsel he had no ability to borrow money for his legal defense.”

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<title>No-Show! Douglas Man Wanted On 72 Child Sex-Related Charges Doesn't Show Up To Court | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Wyoming man facing 72 felony child sex charges was a no-show for his plea hearing Tuesday in Douglas. John Smallbone was released on his own recognizance by a Colorado court last week. Law enforcement officials are angered that he was set free.

No-Show! Douglas Man Wanted On 72 Child Sex-Related Charges Doesn't Show Up To Court

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Public Safety

Families had gathered to watch Fourth of July fireworks at F.E. Warren Air Force Base when the celebration turned into a nightmare.

Just after 10 p.m. July 4, a 5-year-old girl watching the fireworks from the Trails End parking lot suddenly suffered what appeared to be a head injury. She was rushed to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where doctors discovered a bullet lodged in one of her sinus cavities.

The girl, the daughter of an airman stationed at F.E. Warren, was later flown to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where physicians confirmed the object was indeed a bullet. Surgeons removed it, and she has since been discharged and is recovering with her family.

Now, nearly four weeks later, military and local investigators are asking the public for help in identifying who fired the shot.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Air Force Office of Special Investigations at 307-432-2114.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Public Asked To Think Back"}]

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins said investigators initially chose not to publicize the shooting because they believed doing so could jeopardize the investigation.

"We wanted to talk about it right away," Collins told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday. But after consulting with investigators, city officials agreed to wait.

"They felt like if we could wait till a week or two, that would give them time to run down a bunch of leads before we made it public," Collins said. "They were worried maybe the gun might disappear or something along those lines, and so in order to be able to get justice for the family, we thought it was prudent to give law enforcement opportunity to do their investigation before we made a public announcement."

Collins said he first learned about the shooting from the commander of the 90th Missile Wing, likely the morning after the incident.

Because the shooting occurred outside Cheyenne city limits, neither the city nor the Cheyenne Police Department participated in the investigation, he said.

F.E. Warren Air Force Base Public Affairs did not respond to Cowboy State Daily's requests for additional information before publication.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Residents Urged To Think Back "}]

Officials urged anyone who discharged a firearm that night — or anyone who witnessed unsafe gunfire — to consider the consequences and contact investigators.

Collins echoed that message, saying responsible firearm ownership carries an obligation to use guns safely.

"Wyoming is a Second Amendment state, and we take pride in our guns," he said. "But along with that comes the responsibility to handle them properly.

"There is no time where celebrating and shooting a gun or a weapon into the sky is safe or appropriate."

He also urged residents to think back to the Fourth of July celebration, saying even seemingly insignificant observations — a vehicle parked near the base, unusual activity or someone firing a weapon — could help investigators piece together what happened.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'I Was Heartsick'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The case struck Collins personally."}]

"I have grandchildren about that same age, and I was heartsick," he said.

He said he was relieved the little girl appears to be recovering but couldn't believe a holiday celebration ended with a child wounded by gunfire.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"It was devastating,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Collins said the family deserves answers."}]

"We're just asking for help," he said. "We really hope that we'll be able to find the gun and maybe try to understand what happened. I think the family deserves that, and I hope we can make it happen."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Other Recent Shooting Cases"}]

Tuesday's appeal comes after several unrelated shooting incidents involving F.E. Warren Air Force Base personnel that have drawn public attention over the past year.

In September 2025, Fort Collins police identified a Wyoming-based airman assigned to F.E. Warren as the gunman in a murder-suicide tied to a domestic violence incident. The airman died at the scene, and the woman who was wounded died the next day.

In March 2025, Air Force personnel target shooting on private land in Platte County accidentally struck and seriously injured a Verizon contractor working atop a nearby cell tower. The worker survived, and Cowboy State Daily has requested the final investigative report in that case.

In July 2025, another F.E. Warren airman was fatally shot inside a military dormitory. The death initially drew scrutiny because the weapon involved was a military-issued Sig Sauer M18 pistol, but investigators later arrested another airman on suspicion of manslaughter after concluding the shooting was not accidental.

Then, in August 2025, another fatal shooting involving two F.E. Warren airmen resulted in a manslaughter charge in Laramie County. That criminal case remains pending.

Authorities have not indicated any connection between those cases and the investigation into the July 4 shooting. They remain separate incidents involving personnel assigned to F.E. Warren Air Force Base.

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<title>Cheyenne Mayor: Help Us Find Shooter Who Hit 5-Year-Old In Head At Fireworks Show | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins is asking for the public's help in finding the shooter responsible for a 5-year-old getting struck in the head by a bullet. She was watching the July 4 fireworks show at F.E. Warren Air Force Base when hit by the stray bullet.

Cheyenne Mayor: Help Us Find Shooter Who Hit 5-Year-Old In Head At Fireworks Show

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Several side roads at a popular recreation area north of Evanston have been closed by state and federal officials after landowners complained about their land being “torn up” by unauthorized motorized use.

Some recreationists balked at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department posting "road closed" signs on several roads and two-tracks in the Woodruff Narrows/Bear River Divide area.

It includes a Game and Fish public access area.

However, agency personnel told Cowboy State Daily the roads in question cross private property, and landowners were fed up.

"The landowners are sick of having their land torn up," Bureau of Land Namangement Wyoming spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman told Cowboy State Daily.

The episode encapsulates the complexities of public recreation areas set on easements across private land.

The 16.3-acre Woodruff Narrows Public Access Area offers fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, boating, and wildlife viewing, according to Game and Fish. Just to the northeast is the roughly 12-acre Bear River PAA, which offers camping, fishing and hunting.

Game and Fish works with landowners to establish PAAs at similar places, such as walk-in hunting and angling areas and hunter management areas.

In exchange for public access, Game and Fish establishes and enforces conditions set by landowners, including dates of use, access points, limits on motorized travel, and the like.

Phil Pierson of Wichita, Kansas, stated in a social media post that Woodruff Narrows is one of his favorite places to visit. So, he was taken aback when he went there recently and discovered several roads he likes to use were posted as "closed" by Game and Fish.

He said that it wasn't right to be denied access to "public lands."

Pierson could not be reached for further comment.

Local outdoorsman Landon McGuire told Cowboy State Daily he hunts mule deer at Woodruff Narrows.

He added that the reservoir also draws anglers, who fish either from boats or along the shoreline.

He noted that the jurisdiction of the land can be confusing because it's in an area of "checkerboard" public and private land parcels, with square parcels of BLM and private land.

In much of the area, hunting is allowed only on foot, he said.

"Those (road closed) signs go up every fall" to remind hunters where they can and cannot drive, he said.

The "actual designated routes" for public travel are clearly marked on hunting GPS apps, such as onX, McGuire said.

He added that he understands why Game and Fish must regulate travel as part of its agreement with private landowners.

It's Game and Fish's duty to manage both the wildlife and human activity in the area, he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Complex Management"}]

Landowners' rights and concerns must be respected in public access areas, Game and Fish spokeswoman Anne Hodnett stated in an email to Cowboy State Daily.

"The Bear River Divide is unique compared to most PAAs in our state due to its scale and complex, 'checkerboard' landownership pattern, which includes a mix of private, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and state lands," she said. "When private landowners opened access and enrolled their lands into our access program, they requested specific protections to prevent motorized damage and unauthorized access on their specific parts of their property." 

Game and Fish "worked directly with these landowners" to decide which roads to close to the public, Hodnett added.

She said protecting private property rights helps ensure that landowners continue to allow public access to the recreation area.

"Standard PAA regulations prohibit off-road travel and ATV/ORV use throughout the area to protect habitat and prevent property damage," Hodnett added.

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<title>State Closes Popular Evanston Recreation Roads After Private Lands 'Torn Up' | Cowboy State Daily</title>

After angry landowners near a recreation area north of Evanston complained of their property being "torn up," state officials closed the roads. "The landowners are sick of having their land torn up," BLM spokeswoman Courtney Whiteman said.

State Closes Popular Evanston Recreation Roads After Private Lands 'Torn Up'

An Afton attorney who previously served as a Lincoln County deputy prosecutor and was recently a finalist for a Wyoming judgeship is facing a misdemeanor solicitation charge in neighboring Idaho after investigators allege he offered to pay for a sexual encounter through an anonymous dating app.

John Bowers, 66, was charged July 22 in Bear Lake County with one misdemeanor count of solicitation for commercial sexual activity.

A probable cause affidavit says the investigation began June 24 after a private citizen contacted the Montpelier Police Department about messages exchanged with Bowers on Sniffies, a location-based social networking app. 

The reporting party, who described himself in the affidavit as someone who reports suspected criminal activity to law enforcement, told police Bowers offered $300 to "party" and said he would bring "party supplies." Investigators interpreted the messages as an offer to pay for a sexual encounter.

[{"type":"text","text":"Bowers has pleaded not guilty."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'This Charge is Frivolous' "}]

Bowers' attorney, Richard Blok of Pocatello, declined to comment to Cowboy State Daily, saying the Rules of Professional Conduct limited what he could say.

However, he said a statement he previously provided to an Idaho news outlet remains accurate.

"Mr. Bowers is innocent of the charge,” Blok said in the statement. "This charge is frivolous and should never have been brought."

[{"type":"text","text":"A pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 9 in Bear Lake County."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Search Leads To Wyoming Office"}]

On May 21, investigators with the Montpelier Police Department, assisted by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, contacted Bowers outside his Afton law office while executing a search warrant for his electronic devices. After returning to the office, Bowers agreed to speak with investigators and surrendered his cellphone.

The affidavit notes investigators later recovered digital evidence they believe linked Bowers to the account used in the conversations, including a Gmail account allegedly created the same day under the name "Jack Black" that received a Sniffies activation email.

During the interview, Bowers acknowledged using the app and exchanging messages but denied intending to solicit prostitution.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I truly didn't think I was soliciting,\" Bowers told investigators."}]

Bowers also described his conduct as "morally wrong and inappropriate" while maintaining he never intended to arrange a commercial sexual encounter.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Well-Known Wyoming Attorney"}]

Bowers has practiced law in western Wyoming for decades and previously served as a deputy prosecutor in the Lincoln County Attorney's Office.

Last November, he was one of three finalists selected by the Wyoming Judicial Nominating Commission for a Lincoln County Circuit Court judgeship. Gov. Mark Gordon ultimately appointed Judge Thomas Deering to the bench.

Cowboy State Daily also contacted the Wyoming State Bar seeking information about Bowers' status as a licensed attorney and whether the bar had taken any action in response to the Idaho criminal charge.

Deputy Bar Counsel Brandon Booth declined to answer questions about Bowers specifically.

Asked generally about the bar's policy when a licensed attorney is charged with a misdemeanor, Booth said attorneys have reporting obligations "depending on the result of the allegations."

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<title>Afton Attorney, Former Deputy Prosecutor, Charged With Solicitation In Idaho | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Afton attorney John Bowers, once a Lincoln County deputy prosecutor, is facing a solicitation charge in Idaho after investigators say he offered to pay for a sexual encounter through an app. He says his conduct was "morally wrong" but denies solicitation.

Afton Attorney, Former Deputy Prosecutor, Charged With Solicitation In Idaho

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

In the roughly three hours after news broke Monday that a Uinta County brand inspector 

to helping people torture a moose, the brand inspector was fired, a public official says.

Also, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon condemned the act by Justin Martin, who pleaded guilty June 17 to one count of accessory before the act to felony animal cruelty.

Martin has not been sentenced and he reserves the right to appeal how law enforcement pulled evidence from his phone. Court documents say Martin was featured in a cellphone video encouraging Kylan Platt, as the latter aggressively spurred a female moose in ill health at a Uinta County ranch.

“This is absolutely irresponsible behavior unbefitting a brand inspector,” said Gordon in a Monday afternoon statement to Cowboy State Daily. “I hold brand inspectors to a very high standard. Mr. Martin is no longer an employee of the state of Wyoming.”

Wyoming Livestock Board Director Steve True had confirmed to Cowboy State Daily at about 1:44 p.m. Monday that Martin remained a brand inspector.

Gordon’s statement that he is no longer employed by the state came at about 4:05 p.m.

Pressed for more particulars on who terminated Martin and when, Gordon’s spokeswoman Amy Edmonds referred Cowboy State Daily back to True.

[{"type":"text","text":"True said that he terminated Martin within that more-than-two-hour span."}]

“In that meantime, I have terminated him,” True said, adding that it was his own decision, and that Gordon did not influence that decision.

[{"type":"text","text":"“(It was) my determination,” said True."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"True declined to elaborate further on the personnel matter."}]

Cowboy State Daily reached out to Martin for comment via his attorney Joe Hampton, and will update this story should he comment on the termination.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"About The Case"}]

The case began after Wyoming Game and Fish Department investigators seized Martin's cellphone during an unrelated investigation in 2022. While searching, investigators discovered videos and screenshots that ultimately launched the moose abuse case. 

After getting an additional search warrant specific to the wildlife investigation, officers recovered four videos tied to the May 2021 incidents, court documents say.

 the videos showed a cow moose that appeared emaciated, elderly or sick. She told the court one eye appeared sunken, suggesting the animal might have been blind. 

One video showed Kylan Platt climbing onto the moose's back and digging his spurs into the animal aggressively while smiling.

"He doesn't seem to have an issue in participating in this activity at all," Sterling said, comparing the scene to someone breaking a horse to ride. 

Investigators said ropes were placed around both the moose's neck and one of its hind legs.

Prosecutors said Martin can be heard on the video saying, "Spur that son of a bitch" as he laughed and encouraged Platt.

Sterling testified investigators found Martin had sent the video to more than 20 phone numbers. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Done For The Sheer Joy' "}]

Another video, prosecutors said, showed Range Martin on horseback dragging the cow moose by a lariat through chest-high sagebrush until it fell while struggling to regain its footing. 

Evanston Circuit Court Judge Michael Greer ruled at the preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for a jury to decide whether the men intended to torture or torment the animal.

"When I look at the context of what appears in the screenshots of the videos and the comments made by onlookers and the photographer there at the time, this was done for the sheer joy of dominating a wild animal who appeared to be already in poor health and possibly blind," Greer said in binding the case over to district court.

, Range Martin and Platt each accepted plea agreements, pleading guilty to felony cruelty to animals. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed wildlife misdemeanor charges.

As part of those agreements, both men acknowledged Justin Martin was the person filming the videos and making statements heard on the recordings. 

Their plea agreements recommend deferred felony sentences, three years of supervised probation, a $1,000 fine and a prohibition on hunting, trapping and fishing while on probation, although Judge Kaste will make the final decision at sentencing.

Justin Martin was the lone defendant preparing for trial until filing his conditional guilty plea.

His plea means every defendant charged in the case has now admitted guilt to at least one offense, avoiding what was expected to be a four-day jury trial next month.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Conditional Plea "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Hampton said the guilty plea does not end the legal fight."}]

Instead, it preserves a single constitutional issue for appeal: whether Game and Fish investigators exceeded the scope of a search warrant when they discovered the cellphone videos.

Hampton said investigators obtained Martin's phone during an unrelated investigation under a warrant authorizing a search of data created between September 2021 and June 2022. 

Because the alleged moose abuse happened in May 2021, he argues investigators should not have been reviewing material outside the warrant's authorized date range.

"If we're successful in the appeal, then the case would be dismissed, and the conviction would be reversed," Hampton said. "If we're not successful, then the conviction sticks."

Hampton said Martin accepts responsibility for the accessory charge and regrets how the incident unfolded.

"They were just trying to get the moose off their property," Hampton said, explaining ranchers wanted to move cattle into the pasture. "Martin agrees that he didn't do it in the right way and regrets that."

Hampton said Martin has changed how he handles similar situations in the nearly five years since the incident.

He also said the negotiated plea calls for two years of supervised probation and that he does not anticipate prison time, though he acknowledged the judge is free to impose any lawful sentence.

Judge James Kaste accepted Martin's guilty plea but reserved ruling on the parties' sentencing recommendation until the Oct. 2 hearing.

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<title>State Livestock Director Fires Brand Inspector After Guilty Plea In Moose Torture Case | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just hours after news broke Monday that a Uinta County brand inspector had pleaded guilty to helping torture a moose, the state livestock director fired him. “This is absolutely irresponsible behavior unbefitting a brand inspector,” Gov. Gordon said.

State Livestock Director Fires Brand Inspector After Guilty Plea In Moose Torture Case

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

How do you get vehicles stuck up to their axles in mud on the bottom of a lake bed? You call a tow company that has remote-controlled winches, a custom-built winch foot, and hundreds of feet of tow straps. “This is a normal situation for us,” the owner said.

Friday Smile: December 16, 2022

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