A Sheridan man accused of pouring lighter fluid on a sleeping couple in bed reportedly told police he did so to scare them so they would shoot him in the back.
Stefan Gunter, 61, was charged with aggravated assault in June, but his case did not reach the felony-level Sheridan County District Court until Friday, after a judge paused his case for a weekslong mental evaluation.
The man on whom Gunter allegedly poured lighter fluid declined Monday to comment to Cowboy State Daily.
Male Victim’s Account
The investigation started June 1 at 6:48 a.m., when Sheridan Police Officer Armand Enslin responded to an address for a report of threats.
There a man said that he and his “girlfriend” lived as roommates with Gunter in a home in town.
This conflicts with Gunter’s later police statements, in which Gunter said that the woman was his girlfriend instead.
By the alleged victim’s account, he and the woman were sleeping in bed at 2 p.m. on May 31, when he felt something wet dripping on him. He opened his eyes to find Gunter pouring lighter fluid on them both from a yellow container.
Gunter sparked a lighter and wielded it before them both, the man told police.
Then Gunter picked up a machete and a black metal baseball bat and swung them both around, says the affidavit, adding that Gunter swung the bat toward the woman’s face but stopped just short of hitting her by about 12 inches.
“My heart sank because I thought Gunter was going to kill her,” the man reportedly told police.
He thought Gunter was going to light him on fire, the affidavit says.
Someone’s Girlfriend
In a separate conversation, the woman told police she too woke to “dripping and wetness” and the scent of lighter fluid. She jumped up and shouted for Gunter to stop. Instead, Gunter ignited a flame on the lighter and moved the flame in front of the male victim’s face, the affidavit relates from the woman’s police interview.
“You don’t want to do this,” the man reportedly told Gunter.
The woman also recalled Gunter swinging both a machete and a baseball bat, slicing her bed sheets. She believed he meant to kill her. She couldn’t find her phone, so she pretended to call police to scare Gunter away, she reportedly said.
Gunter left the room. The woman locked the bedroom door. She heard him leave the apartment, looked out and saw him open the back of her KIA passenger car, close the hatch and leave, the document says.
Police would later find the KIA key in Gunter’s duffel bag, reportedly. As of the affidavit’s filing, police hadn’t found the alleged victim’s phones, which Gunter falsely claimed he hid in the freezer.
Gunter’s Account
Enslin next met with Gunter, who admitted to pouring lighter fluid on the pair as they napped, according to the affidavit.
The document says Gunter worked for a collection agency prior and would break into people’s houses and pour lighter fluid on them while they were sleeping, so the debtors would pay his bosses.
He also admitted to scaring the pair with the bat and the machete, says the affidavit.
Police arrested Gunter and took him to the Sheridan County Detention Center without incident.
After his arrest he asked officers to collect his black duffel bag for safe keeping, from a local bus stop where he’d stashed it earlier that day.
Enslin inventoried the bag’s contents and there found the key to the KIA, in a resealable M&M’s bag in the duffel’s inner pouch, reportedly.
Getting Married
In a follow-up interview at the jail, Gunter said he was in a relationship with the female victim and they had a plan to get married in November. He said he found her nude in bed with the other man after coming home from work, says the document.
The affidavit says Gunter walked around quietly, found the pair’s phones in the bathroom, and hid them in the freezer to prevent them from calling 911. He then mixed water and lighter fluid for the lighter-fluid stunt, he allegedly said.
The bat and machete he swung like a “caveman” to scare them, the document relates.
Gunter told Enslin he hoped one of them would shoot him in the back with a shotgun, so the woman could collect his insurance money.
A later search of the home revealed burnt tin foil, syringes, substances presumed to be methamphetamine and other signs of illegal drug use, allegedly.
Police also found guns in Gunter’s room, the document says.
The Tally
Gunter faces two counts of aggravated assault, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines each, plus one count of reckless endangering (up to one year and $750), one count of felony theft (up to 10 years and $10,000), misdemeanor property destruction (up to six months and $750).
Gunter’s case was paused in July so that the court could be sure he had the mental competency to participate in his own defense. The court declared him sane enough to be prosecuted Aug. 30; and the case was filed in the felony-level court Friday.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
