A Rock Springs woman accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s home to steal a gun while sending him suspicious text messages faces up to 25 years in prison.
The case of Shelby Elizabeth Klamer, 26, rose to the felony-level Sweetwater County District Court on Monday. She faces one count of aggravated burglary, which is punishable by between five and 25 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.
Weird Texts
At 8:51 p.m. on July 5, a Rock Springs homeowner who was with his son away in Riverton, started receiving text messages from an unknown cellphone number. He believed his ex-girlfriend, Shelby Klamer, was using a phone number spoofing application to mask her number since he had her normal number blocked, the man told the Rock Springs Police Department.
He said that Klamer often used fake numbers to contact him and had been doing so for about two days that week. He said he didn’t reply, but the text messages referenced his home, his door being open, and a gun – all sent from three different phone numbers.
Shortly after the texts, an officer arrived at the man’s Rock Springs home and contacted him by phone, letting him know that a door had been found open. The door had been propped open, and an officer noticed that the lights were on, according to an affidavit.
The homeowner gave officers permission to check the house, while he was on FaceTime with them.
The door had been shut and locked when he left, the man told police. The lights had been turned off, the man indicated.
The FaceTime Tour
The homeowner told the officer a Smith and Wesson M&P 9x19mm compact chambered pistol was supposed to be on his nightstand. It wasn’t, the affidavit says.
A neighbor said he saw Klamer’s car at the home the night of July 5, sometime around 10 p.m., the affidavit adds.
Rock Springs Police Department Detective Anthony Anson applied for and received a search warrant authorizing police to search Klamer’s phones, car and home for the missing guns, the affidavit says.
They conducted that search on the afternoon of July 6.
Anson met with Klamer and told her what was reported: The messages, pictures and the missing firearm. Officers searched her car and home. The affidavit said they found the stolen pistol in a bag on her kitchen table.
Klamer, who was still in jail as of July 8, could not be reached for comment via her documented cellphone number. Her public defense attorney Robert Spence did not immediately return a Tuesday phone message seeking comment.
Don’t Steal Guns In Wyoming
The aggravated burglary charge reflects how seriously the Wyoming Legislature regards gun theft.
While normally Wyoming prosecutors will only charge a person with felony-level theft (an underlying charge in this type of aggravated burglary case), if she allegedly stole something worth more than $1,000 – state law considers any gun theft to be a felony, regardless of the gun’s value.
Pistols similar to the one in this case cost about $800, according to Smith & Wesson’s website.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
