A Wyoming man fresh out of prison on parole admitted to being a Cheyenne methamphetamine mule, but said he had no idea he was also transporting fentanyl pills in the capital city, police say.
Christopher Isgrigg, 38, was recently serving prison time on drug and theft violations, but was released on parole in September 2023, according to court documents in federal charges filed Thursday against him.
It was around midnight March 11 when Isgrigg’s gold 2007 Ford Taurus trundled through a flashing red traffic light at East 6th Street and Logan Avenue in Cheyenne, prompting Cheyenne Police Department Officer Brendan Tait to follow him, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in his case.
Tait followed the Ford northbound over the Logan Viaduct toward Nationway Road, then saw the Ford fail to come to a complete stop again at Logan Avenue and Nationway Road at a flashing red traffic signal, the document says.
Tait conducted a traffic stop on the Taurus, which had a Wyoming license plate. The male driver was in the car alone, says the affidavit.
The driver’s license identified the man as Christopher Isgrigg.
Three Bags Of Drugs
Tait asked another officer to respond. The second officer deployed a drug-detection dog for a free air sniff of the car’s exterior. The dog indicated to the odor of drugs coming from inside the vehicle, the affidavit says.
Tait asked Isgrigg to exit his vehicle, and the other officer announced they’d be searching the Taurus.
Tait also searched Isgrigg’s person and found a used hypodermic needle in the man’s pants pocket, says the affidavit.
The other officer allegedly found a glass methamphetamine pipe with residue and another pipe with marijuana residue between the driver’s seat and center console.
The affidavit says that under the driver’s seat, the officer found three bags: one sandwich bag containing suspected methamphetamine, one quart-size Ziploc bag containing more suspected meth; and a third bag, containing suspected fentanyl.
The suspected methamphetamine together weighed 607.8 grams, while the suspected fentanyl pills weighed 34.2 grams, the document says.
These quantities suggest a dealing business rather than personal use, the affidavit says.
Tait arrested Isgrigg and took him to the Cheyenne Police Department.
A Guy Walking Down The Road
Isgrigg reportedly said he was going that night to “meet a guy walking down the road” for a drug exchange.
“I was supposed to take it over to Vandehei exit and put it by a trash can,” Isgrigg said, allegedly. He described himself as a “mule,” but said he’s more of a user than a seller.
An interviewer asked who Isgrigg’s source was.
“I don’t really remember his name, some dude I was in prison with hit me up, said, ‘Hey man, you want to make some money?’” the affidavit relates.
Isgrigg allegedly said the unknown male set up the drug drop, adding that they arranged it over the phone the previous day, March 10.
The affidavit says Isgrigg described meeting the mystery man in a Burger King parking lot and getting “some dope” (meth) from him.
“I thought it was just dope,” Isgrigg said, according to the affidavit, adding he didn’t know there were also fentanyl pills in the package.
Isgrigg was just taking a package from one location to the next in exchange for $1,200, he said.
He’d been released from prison on parole in September 2023, he said. He was in prison in the first place for distributing meth in Platte County.
When he was released from prison the unknown male asked Isgrigg if he wanted to make some “quick money” and Isgrigg agreed — he was struggling financially, says the document.
A field test of the suspected drugs betrayed them as meth and fentanyl, the affidavit says.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
