Two Cheyenne men accused of shooting at a pair of police officers from their vehicle early Thursday morning face multiple felony charges.
By apparent coincidence, five hours before their arrest, a man wanted for allegedly firing upon one of the accused shooters earlier this summer turned himself in.
At about 1:15 a.m. Thursday, a Cheyenne Police Department officer was conducting a security check near East High School. While standing outside his patrol vehicle, someone fired multiple shots in his direction, according to a CPD statement issued later Thursday.
“He could hear the shots flying past his patrol vehicle,” CPD spokeswoman Alexandra Farkas added in a follow-up text message.
The officer retreated into his vehicle and started looking for the shooter.
Fifteen minutes later, a second officer near the Bicycle Station on Dell Range Boulevard announced over the radio that people in a white van were firing shots in his direction.
That second officer followed the van and activated his emergency lights and sirens, then conducted a high-risk traffic stop near the intersection of North College and Parkview drives.
William Nicholson, 19 of Cheyenne, was driving the van. Tayren Smith, 18 of Cheyenne, was the passenger, says the statement.
Both men exited the vehicle, and police arrested them without incident.
Officers collected a stolen gun out of Fort Collins, Colorado, from inside the van, along with a bullet shell casing. They also recovered a video of Nicholson driving the van and shooting from the window.
Agents booked both men into the Laramie County Detention Center and recommended charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and possession of a stolen firearm, the statement says. Authorities found Nicholson to have an active warrant out of Platte County for failure to comply with legal mandates on a theft case, reportedly.
This Coincidence
In an apparent coincidence, hours before Nicholson and Smith had their alleged shooting spree on police officers, Noah Salazar, 21, of Cheyenne, turned himself in.
Salazar was wanted on suspicion of aggravated assault, on claims that he shot toward Nicholson on July 21 at Pointe Park on Gardenia Drive, according to a second CPD statement and his booking ledger.
Nicholson’s arrest could not have led to Salazar’s booking, as Salazar turned himself in at about 11 p.m. Wednesday, roughly five hours before Nicholson’s alleged shooting spree.
“The cases just happened to run concurrently and both involved Nicholson,” said Farkas.
According to statements given to police, Salazar and three other people in a white Sedan were traveling along Gardenia Drive on July 21 and confronted Nicholson, who was walking down the sidewalk.
Salazar reportedly exited the vehicle and shot multiple times toward Nicholson, the statement says.
No one was injured.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
