A man found passed out, naked, and surrounded by wreckage in a stranger’s home in Alpine, Wyoming, now faces burglary and theft charges Lincoln County District Court, court documents say.
Trenton Charles Dobry-Coons, 25, is charged with felony burglary, theft, and property destruction – each punishable by up to 10 years in prison – and a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession. His case rose to the felony-level district court last week.
His arraignment is set for Aug. 7.
Court documents say a homeowner in Alpine, Wyoming, came home at about 8 p.m. June 23 to find Dobry-Coons – a complete stranger – passed out in the homeowner’s recliner. The man’s home was trashed, the man told law enforcement when he reported the problem.
A friend who was concerned about Dobry-Coons during the incident, Bevan Senk, told Cowboy State Daily Dobry-Coons is a “good guy,” but seems to have some mental health problems.
“I don’t know why he decided to do this,” said Senk in a Monday phone interview. “I really don’t know why; I just know that Trent is a pretty good guy outside of that situation.”
Senk, Dobry-Coons and other friends were hanging out that evening, when Dobry-Coons “disappeared,” Senk said.
Dobry-Coons came back with some valuables, and another friend at the hangout, Alyk Lake-Hicks, tried convincing Dobry-Coons to take the valuables back to the house, Senk recalled.
“That’s when he messed everything up,” said Senk, adding that Dobry-Coons said he just wanted a cigarette, and he ran back to the other house, which was the most attractive house in the area, Senk recalled.
Unconscious
Sometime after Dobry-Coons passed out, the homeowner found him in his recliner, called law enforcement and awaited their arrival, outside with his gun, the case affidavit says.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Kale McGee responded to the home with other deputies and a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper.
McGee peeked into the side window and there lay a nude male, later identified as Dobry-Coons, in the homeowner’s recliner, the case evidentiary affidavit says.
McGee and other agents pulled the man out of the chair and handcuffed him. He was still unconscious, but was breathing – and grunting and moaning – while the deputies waited for emergency medical personnel to arrive, says the affidavit.
McGee reportedly noticed Dobry-Coons was wearing two watches, one gold and one white, on one of his hands. These belonged to the homeowner, the document says. Partially-smoked cigars littered the floor, along with empty and spilled wine bottles, and broken items, the affidavit adds.
Up Here Causing Problems
The ambulance arrived to take Dobry-Coons to Star Valley Medical Center, so he could be cleared to go to jail.
McGee stayed behind to investigate further. While he observed the wreckage, he noticed a man outside, yelling and running up the road to the home.
This man, later identified as Senk, said he was checking to see if his friend “Trent” was OK.
McGee assured him he was. Senk said he knew Dobry-Coons was “up here causing problems,” the affidavit says.
McGee and Senk rode to a different address to meet three other men, all “highly intoxicated,” says the document.
The men all attested that only Dobry-Coons had gone to Schneider's house and robbed it.
Alyk Lake-Hicks said he got into a fight with Dobry-Coons and demanded the latter take the valuables back to the house, when Dobry-Coons brought some of the bounty back to the hangout. Lake-Hicks also told the deputy that Dobry-Coons had stashed some stolen things in a field behind the home in which they were gathered, the document says.
Senk reiterated that point in his interview, saying Lake-Hicks was adamant that Dobry-Coons should put the things back.
Lake-Hicks could not be reached for comment by publication time.
Window Pried Open
The document says McGee went out to search the field and found a laptop and two suitcases, one of which contained Schneider's social security card, tax forms, and other important personal information.
The deputy also walked through the home with Schneider and found the man’s cigar collection had been opened, scattered and damaged, with some smoked cigars lying on the floors of multiple rooms and in the bathroom, where Dobry-Coons had apparently taken a shower, the affidavit says.
Dobry-Coons’ clothes lay next to the homeowner’s bed. Also on the bed lay rocks, a yellow knife, guitar picks and a methamphetamine pipe that the homeowner said did not belong to him. The homeowner’s pellet rifle also lay on the bed, says the affidavit.
McGee found a silicone container containing what appeared to be a small amount of THC wax, which tested positive for THC in a field test, the document says. He also found a downstairs window open with a bent screen lying next to it, reportedly.
“It appeared the window had been pried open and broken into,” McGee later wrote in the affidavit.
Schneider reported that his iPad had been broken.
He told Cowboy State Daily Dobry-Coons had tried to cook food in the home.
“Honestly, at the end of the day, the biggest thing he did was just made a mess, cooked some food, spilled wine around on the floor and fell asleep in the chair,” said Schneider. "I lock my doors now."
McGee gathered items that may have had DNA on them, like clothes, cigars, wine bottles, and a cup.
Deputies later found a marijuana pipe and wallet in a nearby field, and in the wallet, Dobry-Coons’ debit card, the affidavit says.
Dobry-Coons’ attorney, public defender Kent Reed Brown, did not immediately respond to a Cowboy State Daily phone message request for comment.
Update: This story has been updated to include a post-publication interview with the homeowner in this case.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
