A man accused of running over his ex-girlfriend’s head at a Cheyenne gas station last month reportedly told police the woman had been spreading bad rumors about him.
The five-count aggravated assault case of Cody Fertig, 33, rose Dec. 21 from the misdemeanor-level court to the felony-level Laramie County District Court.
If convicted on all five counts and sentenced consecutively, Fertig could face up to 31 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines. He’s scheduled for a Jan. 8 arraignment.
An evidentiary affidavit by Cheyenne Police Department Officer Reece Federer says the disaster started with a phone call.
Fertig’s ex-girlfriend, who is 23, caught a ride from another woman to a house party to the Maverick gas station on Gardenia Drive in Cheyenne, just before 3 a.m. Dec. 10.
The other woman, age 25, drove the ex-girlfriend in a Chevy Silverado to the gas station, and a 44 -year-old man rode along because he didn’t like for the women to go there alone at that hour, the affidavit relates from witness interviews.
On the ride to the gas station, the ex-girlfriend was on the phone with Fertig. She was screaming at him, the 44-year-old man later told police.
When they pulled up to the Maverick, Fertig was already there, pacing in the parking lot, “agitated,” the affidavit says.
Bringing An Ice Scraper To A Gunfight
The ex-girlfriend reportedly got out of the Chevy truck, holding an ice scraper in her hands.
She and Fertig walked toward one another.
“Oh you want to pull a weapon on me?” asked Fertig, allegedly, while drawing a pistol from his waistband and pointing it at his ex-girlfriend.
The affidavit relates from a combination of witness interviews and surveillance footage that Fertig threw the firearm on the ground behind him, pushed his ex to the ground and punched her repeatedly in the face.
He also beat the Silverado with the ice scraper and hit the woman driving it, through an open window, the affidavit alleges.
Fertig got back into his own vehicle. His ex-girlfriend pulled herself off the ground and ran toward him, opening the passenger door to yell at him, court documents say. Fertig put the vehicle in reverse, smacking the woman with the open passenger door. Then he drove over her body and head, allegedly.
A Daze, A Head Injury
When Federer arrived, he saw a woman lying on her back in the parking lot with a large pool of blood around her head. She was “extremely dazed and confused,” the officer wrote.
Emergency personnel put her in the back of an ambulance, where she repeated herself while talking with the officer and paramedics. Her head and ankle were swollen, and her head looked broken, the affidavit says.
“After some time, (she) was able to give the first and last name of Cody Fertig,” wrote Federer.
During his later police interview, Fertig reportedly said his ex-girlfriend had spread a rumor about him that made it hard for him to get a girlfriend, and he was upset and lonely.
“I kind of blacked out a little,” Fertig also said, according to the affidavit. “I’m not remembering things perfectly.”
The Tally
Fertig faces five criminal charges: three felonies and two misdemeanors. Each of the felonies is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Those are:
· Aggravated assault and battery for allegedly pointing a gun,
· Aggravated assault and battery for allegedly causing serious bodily injury,
· Felony property destruction relating to the beating of the truck.
The misdemeanors are battery, punishable by up to six months and $750 in fines and interference with a peace officer for allegedly resisting arrest, punishable by up to one year in jail and $1,000 in fines.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
