Daily Smile

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"It's good to have a highly-trained dog...."}]

Smile 8 26 24

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

<title>Daily Smile: Monday, August 26, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It's good to have a highly-trained dog....

Daily Smile: Monday, August 26, 2024

 It's good to have a highly-trained dog....

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

Clair McFarland

Politics

A Wyoming crackdown on the use of the Republican National Committee’s elephant logo is rippling through this year’s election season discourse.

The Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming started a political action committee (PAC) in March to combat the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which is a controversial and populist-leaning group of state House Republicans.

The PAC has raised six billboards across larger Wyoming towns urging people to “STOP The Freedom Caucus Agenda” and vote in the Aug. 18 primary election.

The billboards show a red, white and blue cartoon elephant in the bottom left corner.

The Wyoming Republican Party issued a warning safeguarding the national party’s logo via public statement Monday, saying, “Many candidates have removed the trademarked elephant from their materials at the request of the Wyoming Republican Party because of trademark licensing agreements.”

“Those candidates and candidate committees who have not removed it,” the statement continues, “are at risk of potential legal actions from the Republican National Committee for violations of trademark law.”

The elephant logo belongs to the Republican National Committee (RNC). The Wyoming Republican Party has an agreement to use it but that doesn’t extend to candidates, candidate committees or PACs, interim Wyoming GOP executive director Ginger Bennett told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday text message.

Scott Ortiz and Emily Madden, both Casper-based attorneys, co-founded Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming. They’re both registered Republicans and have been since at least 2012 when the office’s new registration system was installed, the Natrona County Clerk’s Office confirmed Friday.

Ortiz told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday phone interview that the group doesn’t have a bone to pick with the RNC and will happily alter its billboard imagery in the coming days.

Ortiz said he believes the PAC’s use of the elephant likely falls under “good-faith exceptions” that would allow the PAC to use it.

“And I’ve dealt directly with the RNC,” said Ortiz. “I told them, we’ll gladly change that when those contracts expire. And they said that’s fine… I don’t want to fight with the RNC. I’m a Republican.”

Ortiz added: “the Freedom Caucus just hates our billboards because they’re having to explain what their agenda is.”

Debra Gaylen, sales manager for the Wyoming-based Lamar advertising, emphasized in a Friday phone interview that Lamar is “just the billboard company” and takes no political stance.

After a brief exchange, Common Sense Republicans informed Lamar it had changed its logo, Gaylen recalled.

The PAC has arranged for the billboard company to plaster “snipes” or cover-up graphics featuring a buffalo onto the sign, and that process is underway, said Gaylen.

[{"type":"text","text":"Elephants Everywhere"}]

Former Rep. Tony Niemiec, who’s running in the Republican primary to win his Green River-based House seat back from Rep. Marlene Brady, said he had to buy American flag stickers to cover up his elephant this year, though he’s used it in the past.

“From what I understand, the state party is getting this from the RNC,” said Niemiec. He voiced surprise at that, saying that along highways and yards in Utah, “there’s hundreds and hundreds of yard signs” bearing the elephant logo.

Former House Speaker Albert Sommers, of Pinedale, is also running an effort to win his old House seat back in the GOP primary.

He asked Wyoming GOP Chair Bryan Miller and then-executive director Kathy Russell on April 27 whether he was “good” to use a modified elephant logo on the signs his wife had designed, Sommers’ emails show. Miller responded that day he’d forward the request to the RNC state team.  

Miller texted Sommers on May 7 saying the RNC state party strategy director specified that only the state party could use the elephant logo.

By then, Sommers told Cowboy State Daily on Friday, he’d ordered and distributed campaign signs with the modified elephant. He’d also used the elephant in years past, and had believed that the true RNC logo depicted an elephant inside a circle, while his elephants did not.

Sommers’ wife had downloaded the elephant for her design from a professional stock photo website, “and we bought the license for the image,” he noted.

He spent “well over $1,000” to order American flag stickers to cover the elephants, said Sommers.

“It’s kind of interesting because we have a license that says we can use that image. But nonetheless, I wanted to be street legal,” Sommers said.

Miller told Sommers the RNC has been “cracking down for three cycles now, moving toward defending the brand at all levels.”

A Sheridan County group received a cease and desist letter in the last election cycle, Miller added, according to screenshots of the text message exchange. “It’s not a new issue, just being enforced more openly,” added the chair.

Sommers told Cowboy State Daily that Miller was “very professional.” 

Retired Marine Col. Brent Bien’s campaign team is more confident about its Shutterstock license to depict elephants than Sommers’ team. Bien's elephant rears upward. 

“Yes, we did have to address the issue,” said Bien’s campaign outreach manager Cheryl Aguiar in a Friday email. “We have some old signs out there – from 2022 – that (have) an elephant that is ‘more similar’ to the trademarked one, but still not the same.”

Aguiar said the team wasn’t required to change those signs since the elephant is “pretty different.”

“Our new elephant for the 2026 signs… is 

, plus, we purchased the license for it from Shutterstock and I own the license.”

Aguiar said she sent the party the Shutterstock license and, “They can't argue with that one!”

[{"type":"text","text":"The Completely Different Type Of Elephant"}]

Miller told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that he believes Bien’s logo is different enough, but he’s clarifying. Sommers’ was not different enough, Miller added.

“He put yellow stars in it. It’s not different enough. He changed the colors,” said Miller. “The trademark law is very clear. Even similar items to it, you can’t do it.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Bien’s is “a completely different type of elephant.”"}]

Miller noted Bien's Shutterstock license and said that Sommers didn't produce a license, and had said the site took it down. 

Rep. Steve Johnson, R-Cheyenne, is campaigning with the image of an elephant rearing upward.

Miller said he’ll look into that one, and hadn’t heard of it as of Friday.

Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming, however, became the subject of multiple complaints to the secretary of state’s office, said Miller. 

Miller said the Wyoming GOP leadership is separate from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.

Often people conflate the two. Their policy objectives bear many similarities.

Commonsense republicans 6 26 26

<title>Wyoming Republican Party Cracking Down On Use Of Official RNC Elephant Logo | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Common Sense Republicans for Wyoming group says they will alter their billboards after the Wyoming Republican Party warned it could be a violation to use the official GOP elephant logo. They aren't alone — other candidates and groups are doing the same.

Wyoming Republican Party Cracking Down On Use Of Official RNC Elephant Logo

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — More than a year after a masked confrontation at a local apartment erupted into a 

, prosecutors allege the woman who drove three people to the scene knew what was about to happen.

Nevaeh Marie Neemann, 22, has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and accessory before the fact to aggravated assault for her alleged role in the May 11, 2025, shooting at the Foxhill Apartments.

The shooting left 20-year-old Anicio Bernard dead and 20-year-old Colton Robb critically wounded.

Investigators say Robb was targeted because Neemann's boyfriend, Jadin Triplett, believed he had stolen his Glock 26 handgun.

Neemann was arrested this week and made her initial appearance Thursday in Natrona County Circuit Court before Judge Cynthia Sweet. 

A 14-page probable cause affidavit filed by Casper Police Sgt. Andrea Husted paints a detailed picture of months of investigation involving cellphone downloads, Facebook messages, recorded conversations and witness interviews.

Investigators allege Neemann wasn't simply behind the wheel — she knowingly helped carry out a plan that spiraled into a fatal gunfight.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Something Bad ...'"}]

The affidavit shows that Triplett believed Robb had stolen his Glock after visiting the apartment Triplett shared with Neemann in early May 2025.

Rather than reporting the firearm stolen, investigators say Triplett set out to recover it himself.

Triplett posted on Facebook offering $500 for information leading to the gun's return and exchanged messages with friends about confronting Robb.

Detectives also recovered messages showing Bernard asking Triplett whether he had an extra ski mask hours before the shooting.

Investigators say the plan evolved into confronting Robb at the Foxhill Apartments, where he had been staying with relatives.

Neemann admitted driving Bernard, Triplett and Adriana Sanchez to the apartment complex.

Before arriving, she told detectives Bernard removed a pistol from a bag and tucked it into his waistband.

[{"type":"text","text":"She also admitted Triplett had a firearm with him."}]

As the group approached the building, Bernard and Triplett pulled ski masks over their faces.

Neemann told investigators she immediately realized "something bad was going to happen."

According to the affidavit, she understood the plan was for Bernard and Triplett to beat Robb up and recover Triplett's stolen handgun.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Give Me Your’ Stuff"}]

Investigators say Bernard chambered a round while walking toward the apartment.

After someone inside opened the door, Bernard immediately pointed his gun at Robb and yelled, "Give me your shit, give me all your shit."

Robb drew his own handgun, according to court records, and the two men exchanged gunfire inside the apartment.

Neemann told detectives Triplett also pointed a gun at Robb and attempted to fire, but it appeared to jam.

Bernard was struck during the exchange and staggered out of the apartment before collapsing on the stairs outside.

Neemann said she believed she watched Bernard take his last breath after he told the others to run.

Robb survived after suffering a gunshot wound that investigators say struck his heart and gallbladder, requiring emergency surgery before he was flown to Colorado for additional treatment.

The charging document shows nobody riding in Neemann's vehicle called 911.

Instead, investigators say Neemann drove Sanchez away before returning home with Triplett.

There, she told detectives they gathered Triplett's firearms and asked one of his coworkers to take possession of them because Triplett had become suicidal following the shooting.

[{"type":"text","text":"Police later recovered those weapons."}]

Investigators also searched Neemann's maroon Chevrolet Impala, where they found ammunition, magazines, and receipts for firearm-related purchases.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Digital Trail"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Much of the case relies on digital evidence gathered over the past year."}]

Detectives obtained search warrants for cellphones and reviewed Facebook Messenger conversations, FaceTime calls, GPS data and social media posts.

Among the evidence cited in the affidavit are messages showing Bernard and Triplett discussing getting the gun back, Bernard requesting an extra ski mask, and Bernard speaking with Robb just hours before the shooting.

Investigators say Bernard and Robb mentioned drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana together and a mutual friend's bond money during a FaceTime call shortly before the confrontation.

Police also reviewed recordings made after the shooting with participants discussing what had happened inside the apartment.

One recording captured Triplett saying they knocked on the door; Bernard entered first and demanded property before gunfire erupted, according to court documents.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Conflicting Stories"}]

Nearly everyone interviewed agreed on one point: Bernard entered the apartment wearing a ski mask.

[{"type":"text","text":"Beyond that, accounts differed."}]

Some witnesses told police they believed the group only intended to recover the stolen gun. Others described what sounded like an armed robbery after Bernard demanded Robb hand over all of his belongings.

[{"type":"text","text":"Triplett himself gave investigators multiple versions of events."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Initially, he insisted he never pulled the trigger."}]

Later, he admitted pointing his gun at Robb and attempting to fire before realizing the safety was still engaged.

He also acknowledged continuing with the plan after seeing Bernard armed because he didn't want to "be a bitch" or back out.

 with felony accessory before the fact to aggravated assault and battery in connection with the shooting. His case remains pending.

Based on interviews, cellphone evidence and Neemann's own statements, Sgt. Husted concluded there was probable cause to charge Neemann with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and accessory before the fact to aggravated assault.

Neeman will next appear in Circuit Court for a preliminary hearing within about 10 days. Judge Sweet set bond at $25,00 cash or surety. 

Nevaeh Marie Neemann 6 26 26

<title>Casper Woman Charged With Driving Getaway Car After Fatal Apartment Shooting | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Casper woman has been arrested and was in court Thursday, accused of driving the getaway car in an ambush-style apartment shooting more than a year ago that left one man dead. Police say she knew “something bad” was about to go down at the time.

Casper Woman Charged With Driving Getaway Car After Fatal Apartment Shooting

Sean Barry

Tourism

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Great American State Fair showcases all states and territories as part of America’s 250th anniversary festivities, and a visit leaves no doubt what Wyoming’s organizers were thinking when they planned their state’s booth: Tourism promotion.

Cowboy culture and the great outdoors — that’s the Wyoming on display.

You won’t learn about coal, oil, gas and uranium, but you will see enormous photos showing off the splendors of Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Devils Tower.

You won’t learn about ranching, but you can’t miss the giant photo of a cowgirl on a horse, accompanied by the slogan “Mavericks Wanted” and a QR code to scan for a travel brochure.

A display about the women’s suffrage movement? Uh, no. This isn’t a museum. This is all about fun and marketing.

You might learn a little about roping. Courtny Hinds and Kota Provence, both Douglas residents, are on hand to give lessons, using roping dummies. Participants get to wear cowboy hats while they give it a try.

Hinds is managing Wyoming’s exhibition. Chosen by Gov. Mark Gordon, she’s a natural fit for the role, being the executive director and general manager of the Wyoming State Fair.

Provence, staffing the booth with Hinds, is the Wyoming State Fair’s marketing manager.

“So when they heard ‘state fair', Governor Gordon took it literally,” Hinds told Cowboy State Daily at the Wyoming booth on Thursday, explaining how she got the job.

Thursday was the opening day of the event, which runs through July 10. Only Hinds and Provence were staffing the booth, but Hinds said there would be a rotation involving about 10 workers altogether.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Lump Of Coal"}]

The state booths, 24-by-30 feet each, are housed in temporary pavilions clad in a facade to mimic the neoclassical architecture of D.C.’s most famous landmarks.

The pavilions line both sides of the National Mall between the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

The heat and humidity Thursday weren’t bad by D.C. standards, but ventilation in the pavilions was lacking as fans struggled to cool the crowded booths.

Hinds and Provence were going through a lot of bottled waters. They’re not used to humidity at all, Hinds explained.

[{"type":"text","text":"“That’s what’s kicking our butt,” Hinds said."}]

The mineral extraction industries aren’t totally absent from Wyoming’s booth.

If you elbow through the crowds streaming in and out, you get to a small table with a lump of coal and other minerals.

They’re almost lost in the clutter there, nestled alongside a map, brochures, a small loom and other items.

Much more visible is the full-size photo cutout of a woman outfitted for a hike. She stands beside a tent and camping chairs.

Another full-size photo cutout shows an indigenous woman in traditional clothing.  A third one shows a cowboy.

[{"type":"text","text":"Near the roping dummies, a TV showed rodeo events."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Ski Lifts, Dinosaurs, Trains, Trucks"}]

Cowboy State Daily also visited the booths of Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and the Dakotas.

Not all of them lean as heavily into tourism as Wyoming’s booth, though most do show the wonders of the outdoors with giant photos.

Some booths also have accompanying props such as ski lifts (Colorado and Utah), kayaks (Colorado), and a whitewater raft (Idaho).

[{"type":"text","text":"Montana’s booth, just like Wyoming’s, features a camping display."}]

In some cases, non-tourist industries are featured prominently as well — like Idaho’s potatoes and Montana’s mining. Montana’s booth also includes fake dinosaur bones.

The Dakotas’ booths take a more balanced approach, offering details on cultural, political and natural history. Their booths also include displays on agriculture and various industries, along with scenic beauty.

North Dakota’s model of a bison proved to be a popular photo backdrop for visitors. And even though the animal is not genuine, the booth does display a real dinosaur fossil.

South Dakota’s exhibition has an interactive feature allowing visitors to wear goggles and pull the trigger of a shotgun to virtually hunt pheasant.

Nebraska’s booth, through partnerships with Union Pacific and Werner Enterprises, emphasizes the railroad and trucking industries.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Barrasso Shows Up"}]

U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, showed up at the Wyoming booth Thursday afternoon.

After speaking with Hinds for a few minutes, Barrasso told Cowboy State Daily the exhibition is “fantastic.”

According to Barrasso, Wyoming’s tourism office, not just the state’s fair, was involved in the setup.

“There’s a fantastic pavilion that’s here as part of our nation’s fair — for Wyoming,” Barrasso said. “And the Wyoming department of tourism does a great job of attracting people to Wyoming. “So I wanted to stop by today, but of course I’ll be in Wyoming for the Fourth of July — the parades and pageantry and, of course, fireworks.

“Over the past weekend I’ve been traveling the state of Wyoming and people are really looking forward to celebrating the Fourth of July at home — celebrating the 250th birthday, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Although Barrasso is a tireless champion of Wyoming's fossil fuels, he didn’t appear bothered by their negligible place in the exhibition. He understood the emphasis on tourism.

"We have here (in D.C.), people from the department of tourism, from our state fair, all putting Wyoming’s best face forward in an effort to make people realize what it’s like to come to Wyoming, to see the rugged outdoors.

“If they want to visit Wyoming, they’re going to find the vision, the ideals, the spirit and the image, as well as the traditions, of the Old West,” he said.

250th photo 1 6 26 26

<title>250th Great American State Fair In D.C.: Wyoming Showcases Cowboys, Scenery | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Cowboys and scenic wonders were the primary Wyoming themes Thursday at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., where all 50 states were showcased. Courtny Hinds and Kota Provence, both Douglas residents, were on hand to give roping lessons.

250th Great American State Fair In D.C.: Wyoming Showcases Cowboys, Scenery

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

Greg Johnson

Prosecutors claim that a Fremont County BLM law enforcement officer accused of killing another man during a January bar fight didn’t act responsibly to protect others, and instead “advances like a predator” before applying a deadly chokehold.

That characterization of how Richard “Deak” Dollard acted on the evening of Jan. 9 during a brawl at the Maverick Bar in Lander is included in a Thursday prosecution response to a motion from Dollard’s attorney to dismiss the second-degree murder charge he faces.

The June 8 motion filed by Casper-based defense attorney Ryan Semerad argues Richard Dollard can’t be prosecuted “for his proper use of reasonable defensive force to protect others.”

Those others include Dollard’s brother, Justin, and nephew, Jesse, who were both involved in a physical fight with 38-year-old Evan Denevan.

Denevan was fighting with Justin when Richard came into the room and pulled Denevan off his brother, putting him in a restraining hold that prosecutors refer to as a “chokehold” in court documents, but the defense adamantly denies any choking pressure was applied.

What both sides seem to agree on is what was captured on multiple cellphone videos and bar surveillance is Richard holding Denevan around his face and neck area for about 30 seconds, then putting him on the floor.

He died at the scene, according to court documents.

In his motion to dismiss, Semerad argues that Denevan was the aggressor and that Richard acted calmly and with restraint to protect his brother and others from danger.

Only after someone at the bar called out multiple times for Denevan to stop “did Richard step in, taking hold of Evan to pull him away from Justin, the woman, and the crowd of bar patrons standing within punching distance,” the motion to dismiss says.

“I don’t believe my client was angry or emotional,” Semerad told Cowboy State Daily on Friday. “I think he saw the situation and his mentality was not anger or emotion, it was, ‘How do I protect everyone in this situation from being hurt.’”

That’s not what the evidence and witnesses show, prosecutors allege in their response.

“The defendant advances like a predator — he appears to know his goal when he enters the room and he advances unchecked upon the same,” according to the response. “He advances intentionally and deliberately.”

Semerad called the description of his client as a “predator” in the response as “pure rhetoric” and an attempt to “try to characterize this encounter” as something it wasn’t.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘Reasonable Force’"}]

That Richard Dollard only applied a non-lethal hold on Denevan is clearly “not the case” based on video and other evidence, prosecutors say. Most notably, if the hold was non-lethal, why did he die?

“Although the defendant’s claim is that he gripped the decedent in a non-lethal hold meant to control the situation, the video makes it quite clear that this is not the case,” the response to the motion to dismiss says.

“The hold is lethal by self-definition of the circumstances,” the document adds.

Conversely, Semerad said it’s murky at best about what caused Denevan to die that night, as there were other potential health issues that may have contributed to his death.

“There seems to be some kind of disconnect” in what really caused his death, Semerad said. “He perceived the decedent attacking his brother … and there were people in harm’s way. 

“He came over to protect everybody with the use of reasonable force.”

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

An evidentiary affidavit by a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agent filed days after the incident in Lander Circuit Court describes a brawl which at one point contained eight to 10 people, unfolding at the Maverick Bar around 11 p.m. on Jan. 9.

A 911 caller beckoned Lander Police Department officers to the scene at around 11:15 p.m. 

The caller indicated “we have someone down at the Maverick Bar, he’s not breathing, he’s all purple,” says the affidavit.

LPD officers arrived and found Denevan lying on his back near the pool tables with bystanders trying to help him, the document says.

Officers began life-saving measures, but later noted that the man’s face was “slightly purple in color” and they weren’t able to find a carotid pulse. Fremont County emergency medical personnel arrived as well to help, but “Denevan was determined to be deceased,” says the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"LPD secured the bar as a crime scene."}]

Initial witness statements reportedly describe a fight between Denevan and the three Dollard men.

Justin Dollard in his interview with LPD detectives confirmed he was involved in the fight.

Denevan had previously said he would “whip” Justin, the latter reportedly said, and had threatened to fight both Justin and Jesse Dollard.

Denevan had yelled at the Dollard father and son, “If you come over here, I will kick your ass,” the affidavit relates.

Then, according to Justin’s interview and Jesse’s separate interview, Denevan removed his hat and glasses as if preparing for a fight.

Justin Dollard told detectives he approached Denevan, who came back and hit him, “and the fight broke out,” the affidavit relates. 

A Lander man facing a second-degree murder charge for a fatal January bar brawl wants the charge dismissed, saying he used “reasonable” force. Prosecutors disagree, saying he “advances like a predator” on the victim in a Thursday response.

Daily Smile: Monday, August 26, 2024

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