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[{"type":"text","text":"Sam Kinnison solves world hunger....."}]

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Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>You Still Here? Saturday, August 17, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Sam Kinnison solves world hunger....

You Still Here? Saturday, August 17, 2024

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Courts

CHEYENNE — A jury trial remains scheduled to start in less than two months for a 14-year-old charged as an adult with first-degree murder, accused of shooting his mother in the head after an argument over a stolen electronic tablet.

Laramie County Sheriff’s Office investigators say Havoc Leone admitted to shooting his mother, 41-year-old Theresa McIntosh, after she had called him “retarded” and a “thief” on March 6.

If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The death penalty isn’t an option in this case because of Leone’s age.

, one of Leone’s attorneys outlined an alleged pattern of emotional abuse that may have driven the teen to act out.

Leone is an emotionally vulnerable child who had been subjected to a pattern of degrading treatment by a mentally ill mother, argued defense attorney Jonathan Foreman.

“If I called you ‘retarded,’ would you believe it?” Foreman asked Laramie County Sheriff’s Office Detective Miles DePrimo, who testified about the details of the case during the March 18 preliminary hearing.

Those details included Leone admitting to hating his mother and shooting her.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"DePrimo answered, “No.”"}]

“Would a child who had been hearing that his whole childhood start to question that?” Foreman followed up.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"“Maybe,” the detective answered."}]

“Ms. McIntosh, who was mentally ill … regularly called him ‘retarded,’ pulled his hair,” and slapped him, said Foreman.

Conversely, Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Strickland argued that Leone expressed a long-simmering hatred for his mother, had thoughts about killing her, and then followed through when presented an opportunity.

“Right before pulling the trigger on the gun, Theresa yelled at him again if he was ‘retarded,’” Strickland said, recounting an interview Leone had with an investigator. “He said, ‘Yes mom,’ and pulled the trigger.”

 to the first-degree murder charge, setting up a jury trial scheduled to begin Aug. 10.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Argument"}]

McIntosh was still alive when sheriff’s deputies arrived at their house, summoned by a 911 call from his father, who heard the shot while he was playing video games in the basement of their home, according to DePrimo’s court testimony and an affidavit of probable cause he wrote and filed in the case.

After Leone, his mother, and father argued about the electronic tablet he allegedly stole from a client of his mother’s cleaning business, they all went their separate ways in their three-level home just south of the Cheyenne city limits, according to DePrimo’s affidavit.

The father went into the basement to play video games, McIntosh was upstairs in Leone’s room doing a puzzle on the floor, while Leone was at the kitchen table doing homework.

At some point, Leone went up to his room where McIntosh was, and they began arguing again, DePrimo wrote.

A gun the teen stole from his mother’s car the week prior, a Taurus 9mm pistol, had been stashed in a boot in Leone’s closet, the detective wrote. 

At one point during their argument, Leone went to the closet to retrieve a notebook that supposedly had a password to access the stolen tablet, the affidavit says. Leone also pulled the gun out of the boot and held it by his side to hide it from McIntosh.

With McIntosh sitting back on her knees on the floor, Leone told detectives that he tossed the notebook at her, which forced the woman to lean forward away from him, exposing the back of her head, DePrimo testified at the preliminary hearing.

“As she knelt forward, he revealed the gun and shot her,” he said, adding that being called “retarded” seemed to be a trigger for the teen.

“By tossing that notebook, he put her in a position to be shot in the back of the head?” Strickland asked, to which DePrimo answered in the affirmative.

McIntosh was shot once in the head behind her left ear, he added.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What Dad Heard And Saw"}]

Leone’s father heard the gunshot from the basement and went upstairs to see what had happened. There, he encountered his son outside the bedroom, DePrimo wrote.

When he asked the teen what happened, the father told detectives Leone answered, “I don’t know, it just went off,” DePrimo said.

Leone himself at first told detectives that McIntosh had the gun and handed it to him, the detective testified. During that act, he said that “his finger slipped” and the gun fired.

Later, he told another detective the account involving getting the gun out of the boot.

Leone also said that “he had thought about killing Theresa then” at the time he stole the gun from his mother’s car, “but he didn’t,” DePrimo testified.

“He didn’t like to be called names and didn’t know how to express his anger and hatred to her,” he added.

When cross-examined by Foreman, DePrimo admitted that while Leone was asked about his negative feelings toward his mother, he wasn’t asked about the opposite.

“Did you ever ask him if he loved his mother?” Foreman asked. “Are you familiar with the term ‘love-hate relationship?’”

Foreman also explored the initial report to 911 by McIntosh’s common-law husband that she may have tried to kill herself.

“But the initial assumption by her husband was that she killed herself, is that right?” he asked, to which DePrimo answered he didn’t know.

Leone remains at the Laramie County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond.

Havoc Leones house and Theresa Mc Intosh 3 18 26

<title>Cheyenne 14-Year-Old Charged As Adult In Mom’s Shooting Set For Trial | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Cheyenne 14-year-old charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of his mother is set for a jury trial in less than two months. His defense claims he was emotionally abused, while investigators say he admitted he hated his mother.

Cheyenne 14-Year-Old Charged As Adult In Mom’s Shooting Set For Trial

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Wyoming Life

A Montana police officer spotted the giant banana rolling through Billings on Wednesday afternoon and did what countless law enforcement officers have done before him.

[{"type":"text","text":"He turned around and pulled it over."}]

For Steve Braithwaite, owner, builder and full-time driver of the 23-foot-long Big Banana Car, the stop was less of a surprise than a tradition.

"I would see a police car going the other way and get my documents ready," Braithwaite told Cowboy State Daily from Seattle on Thursday morning. "I knew they were going to loop around and pull me over." 

After 15 years, more than 250,000 miles and enough roadside conversations to fill a produce aisle, Braithwaite has learned that driving a giant banana attracts attention.

[{"type":"text","text":"Especially from cops."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"They always find a reason to pull me over,\" Braithwaite said. "}]

in this case it was an issue with the license plate, but ultimately he was not given a ticket.  

Braithwaite figures he may have spent the better part of a decade as one of the most frequently pulled-over drivers in America.

[{"type":"text","text":"Not for speeding, but simply because he was driving a giant banana."}]

"For the first eight or nine years I was the most pulled-over man in America," he said. "It was constant."

[{"type":"text","text":"Often officers simply wanted photographs."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Other times they invented reasons to start a conversation."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"His favorite stop happened in a small mountain town in West Virginia."}]

A traffic light turned red. Braithwaite stopped. The light turned green and he made a leisurely turn through the intersection.

[{"type":"text","text":"A few moments later, flashing lights appeared behind him."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A police officer marched up to the banana and delivered the news."}]

"'The reason I pulled you over, that light back there, you peeled out.'"

[{"type":"text","text":"For a moment, Braithwaite didn't know if he was being serious or not."}]

"He said it so straight-faced," Braithwaite recalled. "And I'm like, 'Oh yeah.'"

[{"type":"text","text":"The banana jokes, he said, are \"never-ending.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Fortunately, so are the laughs."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"How It All Started"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The whole thing began in a gas station in 2008."}]

Braithwaite, a lifelong hot-rod enthusiast, had become bored attending car shows.

Then he watched an episode of the British television show "Top Gear" featuring bizarre custom-built vehicles, including a street-legal garden shed and a drivable couch.

[{"type":"text","text":"For the next month, his brain worked overtime."}]

"Everything I looked at, I thought, 'can I turn that into a car?'" he said. "My drill, my neighbor's lawn mower, everything."

Then one day he found himself standing beside a bowl of fruit in a gas station. 

[{"type":"text","text":"On top sat a banana."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Not the curved cartoon banana he'd always pictured, but a straighter one."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Suddenly, he could see it."}]

"The windshield would go there. The wheels would go there."

[{"type":"text","text":"Then came the moment that changed everything."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I pictured it driving down the road and died laughing,\" he said."}]

The image captivated him so completely that the checkout line moved without him noticing.

"The lady directly behind me had to tap me on the shoulder," he said. "They must have been thinking, 'Oh my God, is that the first banana he's ever seen?'"

[{"type":"text","text":"His rule was simple."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"If it makes me laugh now, I'm going to do it.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"It still made him laugh."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"So he built it."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What he expected to be a parade novelty became his daily driver."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The truck beneath the banana has now traveled more than 250,000 miles."}]

"I didn't think I'd be driving it anywhere near as much as I am," he said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Roaming In Wyoming"}]

Braithwaite didn't stop in Wyoming on this trip. He was headed west toward Washington.

[{"type":"text","text":"But Wyoming still occupies an important place in banana history."}]

Several years ago, while crossing the state, the Big Banana Car suddenly died alongside a lonely stretch of highway.

"I hadn't realized the distances between towns," he said. "I was in the middle of nowhere."

Parked beside the highway, luggage scattered around him. He "managed to get it running again."

By then he was running out of time to get to Los Angeles for a TV appearance, so he left in a hurry. 

[{"type":"text","text":"But he says there's a chance he might come back."}]

Braithwaite wants to race the famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, and why not in the Rockies?

He has already challenged it, but he says he thinks Kraft won't go for it. 

Sooner or later, he figures, some reporter would ask a dangerous question.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"Instead of which is the quicker vehicle, which is the healthier food?\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Then he laughs."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"\"And they're going to lose that.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"World Needs More Whimsy"}]

Casper car enthusiast Tom Morton says he is curious about the drag race with Oscar Mayer's wiener. 

"What's next?" Morton asks, "Asparagus street rods?" Overall, he says "I like it." 

[{"type":"text","text":"What began as a joke has evolved into something larger."}]

Braithwaite recently drove the banana into Mexico, where he was pulled over five times in three days.

[{"type":"text","text":"Every encounter was friendly, he says. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Now he's thinking much bigger."}]

His goal is to drive the Big Banana Car through Central America; somehow get it shipped across oceans and eventually circle the globe.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I just want to keep going,\" he said."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"He's calling the adventure \"The World Needs More Whimsy Grand Tour.\""}]

[{"type":"text","text":"A sign mounted to the back of the vehicle carries the slogan."}]

"The world is dangerously low on whimsy," says the man hoping to make a difference. 

Banana montana highway patrol 6 18 26

<title>Giant Banana Pulled Over in Montana: Driver Says Cops Have Stopped Him 100s Of Times | Cowboy State Daily</title>

For 15 years, Steve Braithwaite has driven a 23-foot banana across the country and, on Wednesday, just like hundreds of times before, he was pulled over by law enforcement. "They always find a reason to pull me over," Braithwaite said.

Giant Banana Pulled Over in Montana: Driver Says Cops Have Stopped Him 100s Of Times

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Two people died Wednesday after a two-vehicle crash unfolded in front of Riverton’s Walmart, drawing passersby from both sides of the city’s busiest road, North Federal Boulevard.

[{"type":"text","text":"The crash was reported around 8:15 p.m."}]

A white Dodge pickup with a crunched hood sat on its side in the middle of the road, while the mangled remains of what witnesses said had been a black Jeep sat upright nearly a half-block south of the pickup, on the northbound lane of the road.

Police, emergency medical personnel and the Riverton Volunteer Fire Department converged. People on the scene pulled one man out of the pickup. The man was bleeding.

“I asked him what the year was,” said Trent Hallada, who was walking in the area and felt debris, “possibly” hit his eye when the crash happened. “He couldn’t even say the date and year.”

Two more eyewitnesses, who both declined to be identified by name, said the driver of the pickup sat on the ground while personnel responded, but when the response calmed slightly, he tried to run.

Law enforcement officers tackled him and took him into custody, the two witnesses said.

The Fremont County Coroner’s office also responded with a transport truck. One person, who lay in the middle of the road under a tarp and closer to the black vehicle, was placed into the transport truck. Firefighters held red tarps around the person to shield public view.

The Riverton Police Department announced in a Thursday statement that “both occupants of one of the vehicles had serious injuries;” one was pronounced dead one the scene, and the second was taken to SageWest Health Care, “where they succumbed to their injuries.”

The RPD statement doesn’t describe the two different vehicles, calling them “one of the vehicles” and “the other vehicle.” But the statement, coupled with witness interviews, indicates that two people were in the black vehicle, and have both now died.

And the driver of the pickup was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide, plus other related offenses, the statement indicates when coupled with witness interviews.

RPD concluded its statement with a request for anyone with information on the wreck to call 307-856-4891.

Riverton crash 6 18 26

<title>Two Dead, One Tackled And Arrested in Riverton Crash | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Two people died Wednesday evening after a two-vehicle crash unfolded in front of Riverton’s Walmart. Law enforcement officers tackled a suspect who was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and vehicular homicide.

Two Dead, One Tackled And Arrested in Riverton Crash

Mac Watson

Daily Video News

It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Thursday, June 18th.  I’m Mac Watson

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"–"}]

The Carbon County sheriff says the man who shot a deputy in Baggs last week was likely planning a ‘large scale act.’ Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the sheriff described the gunman having a stockpile of ammunition.

“The sheriff said that hundreds of magazines for an AR 15 were found in his apartment. It seemed like he was preparing. He also added that he set his apartment on fire before he left and went on his other high speed chase that ultimately ended in him being shot by law enforcement, and inside were several, a number of propane tanks that would have really made that an explosive improvised explosive device.”

The identity of the suspect isn’t being released pending the completion of an investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, Sheriff Bakken tells Cowboy State Daily.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"– "}]

A semitruck carrying millions of honeybees flipped over on U.S. Highway 191 in Yellowstone National Park on Tuesday. Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi spoke with Cheyenne beekeeper Michael Jordan who calls the scene “a devastating loss.”

“A semi truck carrying dozens of beehives, which would account for many millions of bees, flipped over on the road going through Yellowstone National Park near the west entrance. So, obviously, we don't have a lot of information on exactly what happened, but I spoke to Michael Jordan, a beekeeper in Cheyenne, who's dealt with similar situations. and he said that it looked like only 50% of what was there was recoverable, maybe, and they have 48 hours to get on the scene and get new bee hives or honey boxes at the site, so the bees have a place to go, because if they take longer than 48 hours, the queen bees are going to migrate to a spot where they feel safe, and they're going to take their entire retinue with them.”

According to Jordan, an average honey box can hold between 75,000 and 125,000 bees. Each box costs around $500 and generates $2,000 in profit from honey production. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–  "}]

Hoskinson Health & Wellness in Gillette, which envisioned itself as the "Mayo Clinic of the West" before announcing last month it would close, may have a buyer. Cowboy State Daily’s Renee Jean reports that the Hoskinson family announced Wednesday it's in talks to sell to a large hospital chain.

“This clinic, they had a worthy aim, they wanted to be the Mayo Clinic of the West. They wanted to bring cutting-edge, advanced medical care to rural America. They were going to start in Gillette, figure out a business model there, and then translate that to other rural communities. Unfortunately, you know, the healthcare business is brutal, as they, as they discovered, and I don't think these factors were new, necessarily, maybe new to the hot to Charles Hoskinson, who bankrolled this. there are just all kinds of issues with how the healthcare system works, and ultimately he found it was not workable.”

The sale could happen quickly, with an eye on maintaining continuity of patient care. Hoskinson Health announced in May that it would 

, citing months of multi-million-dollar financial losses. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"},{"type":"italic"}],"text":"–"}]

After Wyoming lawmakers grappled with the topic of UFOs last year, the Pentagon released a report of five U.S. Army service members who said they observed a giant translucent airborne potato-shaped UFO over the Cheyenne Mountains in 2022. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports a young man and his dad saw an eerily similar object described in the report 35 years ago in Wyoming.

“So, Rich Barrett, who's an attorney in Wyoming, Dad was a federal judge. He had a sighting of a strange device like 35 years ago with his dad that they corroborated one with the other, so he said that the sighting of a strange potato-shaped flying object over Colorado Springs by five US Army soldiers three years ago, four years ago. He said, look, I don't expect answers for what me and my dad saw 35 years ago. but he did say it's hope inspiring that the Trump administration is trying for transparency.”

Now the government calls them unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) as the modern term for UFO. Five U.S. Army service members observed a translucent, milky, shimmering, airborne object over the Cheyenne Mountains in February 2022, says the report.

I’ll have more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.

Cowboy State Daily News continues now….

Drought and demand are pushing beef to record high prices, leaving Wyoming ranchers praying for rain even if Americans are willing to pay more. Cowboy State Daily’s Kate Meadows reports that ranchers have some tough decisions to make.

“The USDA is reporting that beef prices are high now, and they're expected to go even higher in 2027 because of a historic beef shortage. The cattle shortage is due to a number of factors. Todd Formstrom is a rancher and the president of Wyoming Farm Bureau, he told me that the decision he's making right now is when he's at an all-time high of selling calves, does he sell now and reinvest that money into his operation, or does he hold on to his calves? And he said ranchers are making those tough decisions across Wyoming.”

 While the situation looks bleak now, Wyoming ranchers are optimistic — confident that herds will be rebuilt eventually and that, one of these days, it will rain.

Residents are split over the proposed massive Prometheus Hyperscale data center, which Uinta County commissioners gave a green light on Tuesday. Cowboy State daily’s Renee Jean reports that one critic says, “Prometheus promises all of these things ... and we end up holding the bag.”

“They view a lot of these promises by companies as, you know, suspect. one of the people who spoke against, who's circulating a petition there, he mentioned how many times he's seen, you know, promises broken by various companies along the way. Prometheus hasn't asked for anything, they haven't asked anybody to rehab a space for them. They're not asking for any taxpayer funded grants or anything like that. There's no public money involved at all. It's all private equity.”

In a packed meeting house, public comments ran roughly 50-50 for and against the project. 

Opponents say the proposed 972-megawatt power project at Seminoe Reservoir in Carbon County threatens the state's most prized bighorn sheep herd and the "Miracle Mile" section of the North Platte River famed for its blue-ribbon trout fishing. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that all eyes are on the BLM and a new study by the Federal Energy Regulation commission.

“The Federal Energy Regulation Commission just put out their environmental impact statement and recommended approving that project, recommending issuing a license. Now it still has several steps it’s going to have to go through. We don't know how the BLM is going to respond, because the BLM is actually being asked to waive some protections from wildlife that would pertain to the construction schedule. In other words, you can't do construction while the big bighorn sheep are on their wintering range, which is right next to the construction site. So, either the construction would have to be seasonal. The company says that would make the project just too darned expensive.”

In addition to concerns over bighorn sheep, opponents say they worry how the project could affect blue-ribbon trout fishing on the North Platte River’s Miracle Mile Section, and municipal water supplies.

The Hot Springs County GOP rejected a party leader's bid Monday to nearly drain its bank account and send $4,000 to the state party. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that five people on the losing side of the question walked out, leaving not enough voters to pay their bills.  

“Cheryl Aguiar told me that she and others did not want the new iteration of the county party to have that money, since some among them had backed a conflicting fundraising event, in her words, ‘sabotage’ the party's fundraising event. She said that, though, the walkout was kind of incidental, that she didn't mean for she didn't coordinate for everyone to walk out at once. The critics of the move dispute that, saying no, this walkout looked coordinated, and also the Charlie Kirk Memorial dinner only raised about $1,500 So, what's the rationale of sending 4000 to the state party.”

Delegate Aguiar said that for her part, she left the meeting Monday because the chair was letting attendees heckle and berate her – a claim Chair Joe Martinez disputes.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"—"}]

And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on 

 - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our 

 channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app.  Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.

News image 6 18 26

<title>Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 18, 2026 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Thursday's headlines include:
* Baggs Suspect Planned Large-Scale Attack
* Gillette Hoskinson Clinic Says It Has A Buyer
* Truck Overturns With Millions Of Bees In Yellowstone

Cowboy State Daily Video Newscast: Thursday, June 18, 2026

A 12-person Laramie County jury found former South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District General Manager Dena Hansen guilty Wednesday of stealing about $350,000 from the district over nearly a decade.

A Laramie County District Court clerk confirmed Hansen's conviction on a single felony theft count. The verdict form was not publicly available Wednesday afternoon.

The case centered on allegations that about $350,000 was diverted from the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District between 2014 and 2024 while Hansen oversaw its finances.

For years, the amounts were small enough to disappear into a stack of utility bills.

[{"type":"text","text":"A few hundred dollars one month. A little more the next."}]

Some was cash handed across a counter by customers paying water bills. Checks sometimes sat for days before clearing. Deposit slips appeared to tell different stories, depending on which copy investigators examined.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Familiar Face"}]

According to court records, Hansen worked for the district for more than 30 years.

Employees told investigators she was deeply involved in the district's day-to-day financial operations.

She handled deposits, interacted with customers, and maintained broad control over money moving through the office, says an affidavit of probable cause. 

The district serves customers south of Cheyenne, collecting monthly payments from residents and businesses for water and sewer service.

A Laramie County jury on Wednesday found the former manager of the South Cheyenne Water and Sewer District guilty of stealing about $350,000 from district accounts over a decade. For years, the amounts were small enough to disappear into a stack of utility bills. She faces up to 10 years in prison.

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