RIVERTON – A crowd of about 20 loved ones filed into a courtroom on Monday to support a now-former Riverton police officer facing up to five years in prison on a steroids possession charge.
They were friends and family of Logan Alley, 25, attending his initial hearing, where he was formally charged with one count of steroids possession of liquid trenbolone, an illegal growth stimulant.
“Us being here should be a big comment. We’re here to support him,” Ashley Eckley, a Riverton resident, told Cowboy State Daily.
Some of the people who attended Alley’s hearing wept. All appeared somber throughout.
Pinedale Circuit Court Judge John LaBuda oversaw the hearing via virtual link, in the place of Riverton Circuit Court Judge Dan Stebner, who had a conflict in the case.
LaBuda set Alley’s bond at $1,000 unsecured, meaning Alley doesn’t have to put up the money up front to stay out of jail. Alley and his attorney Jeff Stanbury declined to comment after the hearing.
Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun recommended the light bond, noting that Alley has strong ties to the community and no criminal history. There’s “no reason” to keep the man in the county jail, said LeBrun.
Stanbury did not object, adding that the charge is a nonviolent one.
Liquid trenbolone is a steroid that is typically given to cattle to increase muscle mass.
Felony possession of liquid trenbolone is punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Alley is no longer employed with the Riverton Police Department, Chief Eric Hurtado told Cowboy State Daily when Alley was charged.
Investigation
The investigation started in May, when U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector Richard Fergon was reviewing mail business records and noticed a Riverton address had received several suspicious parcels associated with darknet vendors and other drug seizures, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed last month.
Law enforcement personnel started monitoring mail parcels headed to that location, addressed to Alley, says the affidavit. They also noted that Alley was an active Riverton Police Department officer.
Incoming
On June 16, Fergon and a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) special agent “became aware of a suspicious parcel” headed to Alley’s address, according to the affidavit.
The USPS priority mail parcel had a return address in Las Vegas. Fergon obtained a federal search warrant for the package based on previous packages heading to that address being associated with various drug seizures, the affidavit says.
Four days later, special agents executed the search warrant and found about 60 generic Cialis tablets in two separate packages, labeled as containing 25 milligrams of tadalafil, a prescription-only substance similar to testosterone, the document says.
Fergon and the agent met June 20 with Riverton police Capt. Wes Romero and Chief Eric Hurtado to brief them on the suspicious parcel. They said they wanted to speak with Alley.
The supervisors put Alley on administrative leave pending the outcome of the DCI investigation.
Investigators met with Alley and asked if he had a prescription for the pills. Alley countered, asking if he was under criminal investigation, the police document says.
“Alley admitted to buying various steroids such as trenbolone from the website he believed was U.S.-based,” the affidavit says.
Permission
The document says Alley gave agents permission to open a second parcel that was on its way to his house. He admitted it would contain steroids like testosterone and trenbolone — two vials of each for personal use.
Fergon asked Alley if he knew this was illegal, the document says.
“Maybe not the extent,” Alley reportedly answered, adding, “I’m not going to act stupid.”
Alley told investigators that he hadn’t sold or given away the drugs.
He also said he didn’t use steroids while on duty, and that they didn’t affect his performance at work, the affidavit says.
The document says Alley allowed the agents to log into his account on the website using his login and password, and they saw various shipments of steroids and testosterone.
Interception
On July 21, inspectors intercepted the second inbound parcel in Cheyenne. A DCI agent opened it, with Fergon present, and the agent found four vials containing “an unknown substance,” says the affidavit.
They bore these labels: “ROID PHARM super test 400 mg/mL” and “ROID PHARM Trenbolone Enanthate 250 mg/mL.”
Two months later, the Wyoming State Crime lab confirmed to agents that the fluids tested positive for trenbolone enanthate, which is an illegal drug under Wyoming law.
Alley has served a couple of stints with RPD. He was sworn in in February of 2020 and again in May of this year.
RPD Chief Eric Hurtado said the department immediately placed Alley on leave when it learned of the allegations.
“We fully cooperated with the investigating agency so that a complete investigation can be conducted,” wrote Hurtado in an Aug. 27 text message to Cowboy State Daily.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
