The Wyoming man who executed his two traveling companions in August was high on methamphetamine and irritated at their whispering, according to a confession that surfaced in a court transcript this week.
Luke Young, 27, pleaded guilty in Natrona County District Court on March 3 to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault stemming from the shooting deaths of Kameron Young-Johnson and Acacia Colvin.
By pleading guilty he avoids the death penalty, but faces a life sentence in prison.
‘A Rundown On What Happened’
Judge Joshua Eames asked Young to give a factual account of what happened to support his guilty plea.
“I’ll just give a rundown on what happened,” said Young after speaking briefly with his attorney, Dylan Rosalez. “We had just dropped some fentanyl off over in Worland, and we were heading back.”
The trio had left Casper earlier that day in a red car to deal drugs in Wyoming. Both men were armed. Young sat in the back.
They stopped in the Wind River Canyon outside Thermopolis, a jagged thoroughfare known for the canyon’s colorful and steep rock formations. There the trio did “a bunch of meth,” said Young.
Then they drove through the town of Shoshoni and pivoted toward Casper.
“They’re whispering, talking up front and I confronted them about it,” said Young. “And they started tripping on me, asking me why I was acting like a cop and such. And I just wanted to get out of the car.”
But they wouldn’t let Young get out of the car, he told Eames, adding that he asked at least twice.
“So I got my gun and pointed it,” he said. “Kam’s like, ‘Oh, you think that f-ing thing scares me?’”
Young said that Kameron Young-Johnson “went for his gun he had under his leg.”
“I pulled the trigger,” said Young.
Colvin, who was driving by then, screamed and pulled the car over.
Young got out of the back passenger side while she got out of the front driver’s side, he said.
“That’s when Stalkup pulled up,” said Young.
The Witness
Kyle Stalkup was a motorcyclist who pulled over to help the trio because when he saw Colvin pull over in the evening darkness, he thought she may have hit a deer, according to court documents.
“I got out, pointed the gun at him, told him to get the F out of there,” said Young.
Stalkup left.
He later told police that he “dumped the clutch” on his motorcycle and called 911 as he fled.
Young’s aggravated assault conviction stems from pointing the .40-caliber gun at Stalkup.
“I saw someone coming at me out of the corner of my eye,” Young continued. “I just reacted, shot six times, and then after that I left.”
Eames asked Young to specify whom he shot six times.
“I shot Acacia,” answered Young.
“That was after you shot Mr. Johnson?” asked Eames.
“Yes, sir,” said Young.
Both Rosalez and Natrona County District Attorney Daniel Itzen said they believed Young’s confession was sufficient to warrant a conviction on all three charges.
Eames agreed and found Young guilty, adding that Young appeared to be sound of mind and was not coerced into making his plea.
The hearing lasted 28 minutes.
