Police say they have caught two people trafficking bulk amounts of fentanyl — 7,000 pills — and meth from Aurora, Colorado, into Park County, Wyoming.
Korinne Alyse McKay, 35, also identified in court documents as Korinne Santini, and Wayne William Wright, 58, each face up to 80 years in prison and $100,000 in fines if convicted on four felony drug charges apiece.
They both have a preliminary hearing set for Thursday morning, at which Cody Circuit Court Judge Stephen Joseph Darrah will decide whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting them.
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents received “various information implicating Santini in the possession and distribution of fentanyl tablets in Park County,” says an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case, by DCI Special Agent Jonathan Shane Reece.
The affidavit is vague on what the information was, and some of the methods that followed its gathering.
Agents had evidence that Santini and others were getting fentanyl from Aurora, the document says.
Agents used “various investigative techniques” and discovered Santini and Wright were believed to be in Aurora overnight Sept. 21 and 22. Investigators conducted physical and electronic surveillance on the pair, says the affidavit.
Outside Meeteetse
They soon discovered Wright’s vehicle, a 2017 Ford Focus with Wyoming plates, traveling north out of Hot Springs County into Park County. Reece asked Park County Sheriff’s Office deputies to stop the car just outside Meeteetse on State Highway 120, reportedly.
A deputy conducted a traffic stop, and approached Wright, who was driving. Santini was in the passenger seat, stashing something under her seat, the affidavit alleges.
Agents asked the pair to speak with agents outside the car. Reece told them both they were being detained while investigators got a search warrant, reportedly.
The document says Wright and Santini gave conflicting statements regarding their reasons for traveling.
Reece got a search warrant for the car from District Court Judge Bill Simpson.
The Mother Lode
When agents searched the car, they found 2,000 tablets, believed to be fentanyl, under Santini’s seat, says the affidavit. Behind the driver’s seat, they found dispensary marijuana, the document says.
Agents searched the trunk. They found another 5,000 suspected fentanyl tablets and roughly a pound of suspected methamphetamine, says the affidavit. Next to the suspected drugs, police say,they found $7,000 in cash, in a banker style bag, and “sale kits” comprised of scales, scoops and baggies.
A field test indicated positive for both the meth and the fentanyl, the document adds.
The pair were charged Sept. 24.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
