Faleena Hopkins, 52, was a no-show at her arraignment scheduled for February 28. U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie A. Hambrick confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that Hopkins failed to appear in federal court or make any arrangements to appear remotely.
As a result, two separate federal warrants were issued for Hopkins—one for failure to appear on a citation in Yellowstone National Park, and the other for the no-show on six citations racked up in Grand Teton National Park.
Gone Dark Again
Hopkins became a missing persons case in Wyoming after her disappearance following a bizarre chain of events starting on January 27.
The Seattle resident drove to Wyoming sight unseen. She had never visited the state, according to family members. No one knew why she might have come to Wyoming.
Hopkins got her vehicle stuck in the snow near Flagg Ranch while attempting to drive on a snowmobile trail. She was pulled out and cited by Yellowstone Park Rangers. An hour later, Hopkins was again contacted by law enforcement when her car was observed parked in the middle of the road at Jackson Lake Junction.
Hopkins sped off and fled for 24 miles. Grand Teton National Park rangers broke off the chase for public safety. Hopkins was finally stopped and arrested near Moose Junction.
Hopkins was booked on seven total counts including suspicion of fleeing/attempting to elude police officers. She spent a weekend in jail at the Teton County Detention Center in Jackson.
After appearing via phone before a federal judge on January 30, Hopkins walked out of the police station, picked up a new cell phone at Verizon, and made her way to the Jackson Hole Airport where she boarded a flight to Salt Lake City and then made connections to fly on to Hawaii.
She left behind her car and her dog.
For two weeks friends and family waited to hear from the novelist. Her older sister Shannon believed Faleena was in some kind of distress and perhaps in a “fugue state.”
Jackson Police Department detectives pieced together evidence to locate Hopkins in Lihue, Kauai County, Hawaii. Local authorities there made contact with Hopkins on February 17, determining that she was safe and sound, and the missing persons case was closed.
Now, a new chapter is unfolding.
Cockygate
Hopkins achieved a degree of notoriety in 2018 when she successfully applied for a trademark on the word “cocky” as it appeared in titles of romance novels.
Hopkins’ series of self-published raunch-romance under the “Cocker Brothers” brand includes titles like “Cocky Roomie” and “Cocky Quarterback.”
The trademark, as well as threatened legal action, met with fierce blowback from the indie publishing community, which called it nothing short of trademark bullying, and #cockygate ran wild on social media.
Hopkins eventually surrendered the trademark registration after intense scrutiny.
During the height of her book publishing fame, Hopkins also wrote, directed and starred in the motion picture “Just One More Kiss,” which won Best Feature Film at Big Apple Film Festival in 2019.
