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

<title>Bonus Video 1: Thursday, October 31, 2024 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

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Bonus Video 1: Thursday, October 31, 2024

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

The Haitian truck driver convicted of killing one Rawlins EMT and severely injuring another in a catastrophic Interstate 80 crash more than three years ago is asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to overturn his convictions, claiming prosecutors failed to prove the one thing jurors had to find beyond a reasonable doubt: that he acted recklessly.

Saviol Saint Jean, who was convicted last September after a weeklong jury trial in Sweetwater County, filed his opening appeal brief Tuesday.

Rather than claiming juror misconduct or errors by the trial judge, Saint Jean's attorneys contend the evidence itself wasn't enough to support guilty verdicts for aggravated homicide by vehicle and aggravated assault and battery. 

The case stems from the predawn hours of Dec. 21, 2022, when Saint Jean's semitrailer slammed into a parked ambulance that had responded to an earlier crash on Interstate 80 near Green River.

 and seriously injured ambulance driver 

Earlier this year, District Court Judge Suzannah Robinson 

Saint Jean to serve 12-14 years in prison, saying Harris' death was "preventable" while acknowledging Saint Jean had shown genuine remorse. 

During sentencing, Saint Jean apologized through an interpreter, telling Harris' family he wished he could "turn back time" and had never intended to hurt anyone.

[{"type":"text","text":"Now he is asking the state's highest court to erase those convictions."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Reasonable Doubt?"}]

The appeal focuses almost entirely on one legal question: whether prosecutors proved Saint Jean acted recklessly.

Under Wyoming law, prosecutors had to convince jurors that Saint Jean consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk — not simply that he made a mistake or caused a terrible crash. 

"The state failed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Saint Jean acted recklessly," Assistant Appellate Counsel Brittany Thorpe wrote.

Instead, Thorpe argues, the evidence showed Saint Jean "misperceived the risk and defaulted to his training, which told him to slow down and change lanes."

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Like The Las Vegas Strip'"}]

Jurors heard dramatically different explanations during 

Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe argued the crash scene was impossible to miss.

"It was lit up like the Las Vegas Strip," he told jurors during closing arguments, pointing to emergency lights, flashing hazards and other truck drivers who had safely navigated the area before Saint Jean arrived.

Erramouspe argued Saint Jean tried to "thread the needle" between disabled vehicles instead of slowing enough to safely negotiate the scene, calling that decision reckless.

The prosecution also emphasized that another commercial driver encountered the same wreck moments earlier but successfully avoided it.

Saint Jean's trial attorney, Joseph Hampton, painted a very different picture.

He argued Interstate 80 had become an extraordinarily dangerous maze after an initial collision between another semitruck and a pickup hauling a trailer blocked both lanes of travel with wreckage and debris.

The interstate, Hampton argued repeatedly, should have been closed before Saint Jean ever arrived.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'Imperfect Decisions'"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Those same arguments now form the backbone of Saint Jean's appeal."}]

According to this week’s appeal, the initial crash blocked the right lane with one semi while trailer debris clogged the left lane. Another commercial truck stopped on the left shoulder after narrowly avoiding the wreckage, leaving little room for approaching traffic.

The appeal adds that no one had deployed emergency triangles, flares or warning cones before Saint Jean reached the scene. Instead, the brief argues, flashing emergency lights were the primary warning to approaching drivers. 

Attorneys also point to trial testimony that investigators could not determine the ambulance's exact location before it was struck.

"There was very little evidence" showing exactly where the ambulance had been parked, the appeal notes, citing Wyoming Highway Patrol testimony. 

[{"type":"text","text":"The defense says Saint Jean wasn't ignoring danger."}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Instead, the appeal argues he responded exactly as he had been trained."}]

Testimony highlighted throughout the filing says Saint Jean reduced his speed by at least 20 mph, changed lanes away from emergency lights and began braking after realizing the ambulance was actually occupying the lane he had entered. 

Commercial driving instructors testified during trial that slowing down and moving away from emergency vehicles is nationally accepted CDL training.

The appeal also points to defense experts who testified Saint Jean likely misjudged the ambulance's location because of glare from emergency lights, darkness and the unusually complex geometry of the crash scene.

One defense expert testified that drivers often recognize hazards but still make imperfect decisions when confronted with sudden emergencies.

According to the appeal, Saint Jean wasn't distracted by a cellphone, wasn't listening to the radio, and wasn't fatigued. His attorneys also note he had only been driving commercial trucks for a few months and had traveled that stretch of Interstate 80 only a handful of times. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Comparing Cases"}]

Saint Jean's conduct doesn't resemble other Wyoming aggravated vehicular homicide cases that have survived Supreme Court review. 

Thorpe contrasts Saint Jean's case with previous decisions involving drivers who inhaled intoxicants before driving, knowingly drove while dangerously fatigued or sped recklessly through traffic while ignoring obvious hazards.

Instead, the appeal relies heavily on a 2020 Wyoming Supreme Court decision overturning another aggravated vehicular homicide conviction because prosecutors failed to prove the driver consciously disregarded fatigue before a fatal crash.

Like that case, Thorpe argues, Saint Jean may have made a tragic mistake, but prosecutors never proved he consciously ignored a known risk. 

The Wyoming Attorney General's Office will now file a response defending the convictions before the Wyoming Supreme Court considers the appeal.

The justices could affirm the convictions, reverse them outright or order additional proceedings in district court.

For the Supreme Court, the question is whether the evidence presented to jurors was legally sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Saint Jean acted recklessly.

Crash scene Rawlins EM Ts 2 9 11 25

<title>Haitian Trucker Who Plowed Into Rawlins EMTs Wants His Conviction Overturned | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The Haitian truck driver who killed one Rawlins EMT and severely injured another in a catastrophic I-80 crash more than three years ago is asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to overturn his convictions. He claims prosecutors never proved he was “reckless."

Haitian Trucker Who Plowed Into Rawlins EMTs Wants His Conviction Overturned

Heinz mark

Mark Heinz

Outdoors

Wildlife

A young female black bear evaded local law enforcement and wildlife authorities for two days as it wandered in and around Worland, raiding dumpsters and garbage cans.

She was finally treed in a resident’s backyard on Thursday afternoon, shot with tranquilizer darts and captured.

The bear was first spotted at the local golf course, Worland wildlife photographer James Yule told Cowboy State Daily.

He dubbed the bear, which weighed about 75 pounds, “Par 5.”

“She was out at the golf course for a day and then she decided, ‘To heck with this, I’m going into town to party,’” Yule said. “She spent a couple of days running back and forth and was in every single dumpster."

At one point, Par 5 evaded capture by going way back into some Creekside weeds and “lying down in some cool swamp water,” Yule said.

Authorities tried hazing the bear out with noisy “whistler” charges fired from shotguns, but that didn’t work, he said.

Washakie County Sheriff’s Office deputies “were able to guide the bear into a tree in the Crimson/Cardinal area of Worland,” before it was tranquilized, according to the sheriff’s office.

After it was captured, Wyoming Game and Fish personnel took custody of the bear, the sheriff’s office stated.

Yule was on site when the bear was captured. He said he was told by Game and Fish agents that the bear will likely be released back into the wild, though it might have been previously captured in the Sheridan area.

"She might be given another chance because she’s a breeding-age female,” Yule said.

An inquiry sent to Game and Fish about the bear’s status on Friday wasn’t answered by publication time.

Bears getting too used to human-provided food sources, what wildlife agencies call “food conditioning,” is one reason why bears are sometimes captured and killed.

That was the case with another 3-year-old Wyoming black bear, which was killed by wildlife agents last month in Grand Teton National Park after it repeatedly obtained human food and started approaching people in the Jenny Lake area.

Yule said he hopes nobody hand-fed Par 5 during her adventure in Worland.

“Once somebody hand-feeds a bear, it will start walking right up to people expecting to get more food,” he said.

Worland resident Ron Goyn told Cowboy State Daily that he came home for lunch on Thursday and found the bear lurking in his backyard.

“My dog just blew up barking, viciously in the house, by my sliding glass door,” he said.

“I’m glad I had that door closed, because I glanced out there, and there was this black bear, just standing on my porch,” he said.

The bear started wandering about the yard, showing great interest in Goyn’s chicken coop.

“Apparently, she thought it was a cave,” and tried going inside, he said, adding that thankfully, his chickens were behind a fence and were unhurt.

The bear clambered over his fence and ended up in his neighbor’s yard, where it was treed by deputies, he said. 

He added that he called Yule to come over and take photos.

Yule said the police tried shooting the bear with a tranquilizer dart, which made it drowsy, but didn’t knock it out. Then Game and Fish agents arrived and darted it again, which did the trick.

“When the bear fell asleep, it got wedged in a fork in the branches,” Goyn said.

Yule said that a cherry-picker lift was brought in from a local business, and a Game and Fish biologist and sheriff’s deputy used it to reach the bear and heave it out of the tree.

Goyn said the drama with the bear in his and his neighbor’s yards lasted about three hours before Game and Fish finally hauled it away.

“It was kind of a strange deal for Worland,” he said.

There are occasionally black bears in the general area, but one coming into town is highly unusual.

"You hear about bears every once in a while along the Bighorn River,” he said. "There’s a lot of good natural resources for them along that river."

Contact Mark Heinz at mark@cowboystatedaily.com

Worland bear Chris 2 7 3 26

<title>Young Black Bear Leads Authorities On Two-Day Chase Through Worland | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A young female black bear evaded local law enforcement and wildlife authorities for two days as it wandered in and around Worland. “She spent a couple of days running back and forth and was in every single dumpster,” said a local who observed the bear.

Young Black Bear Leads Authorities On Two-Day Chase Through Worland

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Energy

When Wyoming oilman Howard Cooper finally got word he could drill two 2.5-mile-long horizontal wells in the Powder River Basin, it wasn’t just a triumph of geology. It was a marathon for the key federal lease that made his wells economic. 

Those two leases were but thin slices of the 2.5-mile-long lateral that made up each horizontal well, cutting across the line, but might as well have been the Great Wall of China as far as Cooper was concerned.

Cooper, who owns Three Crown Petroleum, told Cowboy State Daily he can permit and drill a typical oil well on private minerals in about five weeks in Wyoming, at least on paper. That’s two weeks for state permits, one week to build a pad and move in a drilling rig, and two weeks to drill. 

But when federal leases are involved, timelines can stretch dramatically, particularly if litigation and additional environmental reviews are triggered. 

That makes any well with a federal lease a gamble with million-dollar stakes.

Cooper’s two-well program is a case study in how even the tiniest sliver of federal land can hang up a drilling project, tying up capital while the operator misses out on economic opportunities vital to keeping smaller companies afloat. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"A Lease That Sat For Years"}]

The story starts long before Cooper, with a federal lease that sat in limbo for years. 

The lease was originally issued to Anschutz as part of a series of federal sales between 2015 and 2020 across several western states, including Wyoming, which accounted for 1,232 of the 1,323 leases sold during that time. 

The leases were challenged by conservationists, who said the environmental analysis of water usage, sage-grouse protections and greenhouse gas emissions were inadequate.

A judge agreed, ordering a 200-page supplemental environmental review to redo aquifer and sage-grouse analysis for the sales, which also included some areas in Nevada, Utah and Montana.

Bureau of Land Management spokesmen said at the time that such reviews have been required under the National Environmental Policy Act in similar cases to ensure impacts are fully considered before development moves forward.

To create a viable oil and gas well, Cooper needed to add Anschutz’s disputed lease to existing leases he already held in the area. He had already put together enough leases for a 1.75-mile and a 1.25-mile well, but for the project to be economic, Cooper said he needed each well to have a lateral of at least 2.5 miles.

“That essentially doubles your reserves,” he said. “But doesn’t add that much more to the cost.”

So Cooper signed an agreement to purchase Anschutz’s lease, despite the ongoing legal and regulatory uncertainty tied to it, on Nov. 4, 2025. 

They were the last two puzzle pieces he needed for a viable project. 

From then until now, when he’s finally received the go-ahead to drill, it’s been eight months. 

Taken together, though, that thin slice of federal minerals — from its original lease sale years ago to final permitting today — carries a timeline of roughly seven years. 

That piece was essential, however, to extending Cooper’s wells to 2.5 miles, making the overall project economic.

During that time, Cooper estimates he committed in excess of $1 million across the two Powder River wells — money he had to pay up front 

 while also keeping his business afloat. 

Putting a well together involves is an exercise in a bit of business gymastics, with a dash of mathematics and puzzle making thrown in.

Cooper sited his well pad just outside of the sage-grouse corridor Wyoming has established, saving him an additional $375,000 per well by not having to purchase sage-grouse credits. 

Cooper also bundled two other wells in nearby Johnson County into his Powder River project to further lower the cost of drilling. So, even though the Johnson County wells didn’t have the same federal complications, they couldn’t move forward either until the entire package was ready to go.

“By signing a four-well drilling program, we save a considerable amount of money,” Cooper said. “So we went down this road of one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight months of our capital is tied up. 

“It’s a lot of capital tied up. We know the oil is there, if they would just let us drill and produce it.”

Meanwhile, the market shifted substantially. 

“If we could have drilled these wells three months ago, we would have had three months of oil at $100 a barrel,” he said. “Now we’ve lost 30% of value. It’s gone from $100 a barrel to $70.”

Cooper estimates that, taken together, the four wells would have produced around 300,000 barrels of oil during that three-month period of $100 oil. He bases that figure on production from nearby offset wells, which have already extracted roughly 100,000 barrels each.

“We’re still going to get a return on our investment,” Cooper said. “But we’d have gotten a much better return … if we could have drilled these wells three months ago.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Reform Push Underway"}]

Getting his permits required more than waiting. 

“We worked with Gov. Mark Gordon’s office, Western (Energy) Alliance, both U.S. senators and House representatives,” he said. “We had to work with everybody to get this stuff, which should not be necessary. Why should I spend all that time when, if I drill on private minerals, I don’t have to do any of that. It takes a lot of my time, which I prefer to be focusing on putting together additional drilling deals, as opposed to spending a lot of time with all these different entities to try to get our permits issued.”

Industry leaders say Cooper’s experience is increasingly common. Wyoming Petroleum Association’s Ryan McConnaughey told Cowboy State Daily litigation has become common where federal leasing i involved, often due to the checkerboard nature of mineral leases in most western states. 

“I believe under President Biden’s administration was the first time that every lease sale was challenged,” he said.

While conservation groups have argued those challenges are necessary to ensure federal agencies fully comply with environmental law and account for cumulative impacts, McConnaughey said lawsuits are often filed late in the process, at the 11th hour, as a way to increase financial pressure on operators. 

“This isn’t really about making sure that the federal government is doing their due diligence,” McConnaughey 

said. “It’s become a concerted effort to stop oil and gas drilling on federal lands.”

Environmental reviews conducted for permits in many cases are now taking nearly a decade to complete, he said, which makes the flood of 11th-hour lawsuits even more troubling.

“Delays have become a hallmark of drilling on federal land,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “And that’s one of the reasons we have been advocating for reform.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Building At SPEED"}]

McConnaughey supports legislation from Wyoming’s congressional delegation called the Let America Build Act and the SPEED Act, which sets deadlines for legal challenges and allows states to take larger roles in administering the permitting process. 

McConnaughey said the change would improve efficiency without removing federal requirements. Critics, however, have raised concerns that tighter deadlines could limit legal oversight.

“It should be about making sure that the federal government is following the law,” McConnaughey said. “If that’s the case, those challenges need to take place immediately.”

Taking over regulatory oversight doesn’t reduce or eliminate any existing restrictions, he added. It just means state agencies are helping eliminate a bureaucratic chokepoint.

“That way the work is being done by local people who understand the industry, understand what is required, and could really speed up the process,” McConnaughey said. “I think that would be a game-changer for the industry here in Wyoming.”

Looking over the history of the new wells he’s about to drill, Cooper sees a sharp contrast between federal and state processes. 

“It’s absolutely insane,” he said. “We are moving pretty fast now, but this is one of those things where … it would be really helpful going forward if the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Energy are focusing on streamlining the permitting process with the federal government. I would like to see it more in line with the way the state of Wyoming moves forward. fter you acquire the lease, then you approach the state of Wyoming and file for your permits. If you own the lease 100%, then it takes basically a two-week period from the time you apply for your permits to when they’re issued.

"After that, a rig moves onto the location, a well pad is built, and you’re “good to go.

“Then you just drill the well and tie your well to an existing oil line and an existing gas line, and you sell your product into the existing oil and gas lines and that’s how it works. It’s very efficient, and that’s what the federal government should strive for, because then it would generate a lot more revenue for the federal government.”

Three Crown Petroleum Campbell County 7 3 26 JPG

<title>Wyoming Company Missed Out On $100 Oil With 7-Year Wait To Drill On Federal Land | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Wyoming oilman says it missed out on $100-a-barrel oil during a seven-year fight to get the OK to drill on federal land in the Powder River Basin. "We would have had three months of oil at $100 a barrel,” the owner said. “Now we’ve lost 30% of value."

Wyoming Company Missed Out On $100 Oil With 7-Year Wait To Drill On Federal Land

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Around Wyoming

Clyde “The Buffalo” will be the biggest celebrity in Cody for America’s 250th.

 was invited to participate in the Cody Stampede Rodeo and Parades on July 3 and 4.

On Thursday, the famous bison arrived. His first stop was the historic Irma Hotel. 

It might be the first time a buffalo was invited inside Buffalo Bill’s hotel. He was even served a drink at the bar.

“He likes bourbon and margaritas,” Clyde’s owner, Clint Mortenson, told Cowboy State Daily. “He drinks what I drink.”

Clyde will be first in line for the parades Friday and Saturday. He may or may not have a rider on his humped back.

[{"type":"text","text":"“We haven’t decided yet,” Mortenson said."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Big Celebrity Bison"}]

Mortenson, who owns Mortenson Silver and Saddles in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has raised Clyde since he was two weeks old. He turned his “pet” into a celebrity through the connections he made after several years in the film industry.

“I actually lived in Lusk when I went to saddle-making school, and supplied horses, saddles, and other things for movies in New Mexico,” he said. “That's how Clyde became popular."

Clyde's "acting" credentials include appearances in Paramount's "Yellowstone," the Amazon Prime science-fiction series "Outer Range," and Apple TV’s "Pluribus.”

Clyde has also appeared in commercials for Banana Republic, Bass Pro Shops and YETI.

“When the Oklahoma City Thunder made the NBA Finals last May, Clyde took on the role of "Rumble the Bison" to support the team,” Mortenson said. “He had a place of honor outside the Paycom Center in downtown Oklahoma City.”

Between acting and endorsement gigs, Clyde is a highly sought-after model for all kinds of photo shoots. In November 2025, Mortenson transported Clyde to Jackson for a western-themed wedding shoot.

Mortenson has fully embraced his role as Clyde’s chauffeur, booking agent, and personal assistant. The bison is fully halter-trained, so he’s comfortable going wherever Mortenson leads him.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Buffalo At The Bar"}]

When Mortenson and Clyde reached Cody on Thursday, they were invited inside the Irma Hotel by owner Mike Darby. Clyde eagerly accepted Darby's invitation.

Far from being a bull in a china shop, Clyde doesn’t mind small spaces. He's become a bit of a bar fly.

“We've done a lot of photo shoots in saloons," Mortenson said. "I've taken him into little bars in Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Durango, and Silverton, Colorado. I even took him into the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth, Texas."

Clyde entered the Irma through the back door and easily navigated the winding, narrow corridors leading to the dining room. He even posed on the front porch.

“He did great,” Mortenson said. “He was confident as we twisted and turned through the hallways to reach the bar. It was super.”

Clyde also made an appearance in front of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. He was not invited inside.

At both places, Clyde got photo-ops with bronze sculptures of Buffalo Bill. Mortenson brought something extra special to add to the ambiance of those shots.  

“The saddle is a one-of-a-kind replica of a Buffalo Bill saddle I made in 1993,” he said. “It's based on one he used in the Wild West Show in Paris, France.”

The actual saddle is on display in the Buffalo Bill Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Mortenson got to take his replica inside to show how closely it resembles the original. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Biggest Celebrity"}]

Clyde will be making the most of his trip to Cody. In addition to leading off the Cody Stampede Parades, he’ll be making a grand entrance during the Cody Stampede Rodeo.

[{"type":"text","text":"“He’ll be here through July 4,” Mortenson said."}]

Clyde’s other big accolade is that he’s saddle-trained. Mortenson’s son, Wyatt, an actor and stunt performer, broke into show business as “The Buffalo Rider" by sharing photos and videos of himself riding Clyde.

Clyde will be saddled up for the parades and rodeos but might go riderless for the occasion.

The secret to Clyde’s success is his temperament and his self-identity. He might be a big bull bison, but he doesn’t seem to know that, and Mortenson hasn’t tried to persuade his best client otherwise.

"I don't think he knows he's a buffalo," he said. "He's pretty trustworthy with me, so he let me lead him all over, which has made him popular with directors and photographers. But he's always been gentle. He's just like a person."

Clyde the bison wes cody 14 7 2 26

<title>Bison Drinks Bourbon In Buffalo Bill’s Bar In Cody, Wyoming | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Clyde "The Buffalo" arrived in Cody for the Cody Stampede Rodeo and Parades, and his first stop Thursday was for a drink at Buffalo Bill's Bar in the legendary Wild West showman's historic Irma Hotel. "He likes bourbon and margaritas," said Clyde's owner.

Bison Drinks Bourbon In Buffalo Bill’s Bar In Cody, Wyoming

A Florida woman who owned a behavioral health clinic in Cheyenne has been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 to Wyoming Medicaid for bilking the federal agency with fraudulent claims.

Federal prosecutors say her daughter helped carry out the scheme by assisting with billing and falsifying service documentation while working for the clinic.

Tera Marie Campbell, 47, of Maitland, Florida, owned The Olive Branch LLC, a behavioral health clinic that provided autism services in Cheyenne and Minot, North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming said Thursday in a statement announcing the women’s sentences for conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

Campbell used the business to submit fraudulent Medicaid claims over several years, including claims for services provided by employees who lacked required certifications, claims that were upcoded to higher-paying services and bills for appointments that never occurred, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Investigators said some of those claims were submitted for dates when the clinic was closed and even while Campbell was out of the country on vacation.

A Florida woman who ran a Cheyenne behavioral health clinic, and her daughter, have been ordered to pay back more than $870,000 they stole from Wyoming Medicaid. They funneled fraudulent claims through the clinic for years, say federal prosecutors.

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