CASPER — The off-duty Casper police officer who in August threatened to shoot Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputies and fired a round at them through his apartment window will face six felony charges in Natrona County District Court.
Natrona County District Attorney Dan Itzen confirmed that Michael Hughes waived his preliminary examination on the charges Thursday in Casper Circuit Court.
A court document filed Thursday shows that Hughes was bound over to district court prior to his scheduled preliminary hearing Nov. 19.
A call to Hughes’ Casper attorney Trevor Schenk was not returned by the time this story was posted.
The Standoff
Hughes, 30, had been drinking heavily on Aug. 22 before he got into a standoff with deputies at his Quail Run Apartment in Casper that stretched through much of the day Aug. 23. The incident caused an evacuation of some other apartment residents.
During the 17-hour standoff, he put two bullets in the ceiling and into the apartment above him and “threatened to shoot anyone who comes through the door,” according to court documents.
His arrest affidavit stated that when the Special Response Team flew a drone through a broken window of the apartment that Hughes snatched it out of the air, bent the propellers and threw it back out the window.
On another occasion as the team attempted to open the curtains using rods and standing behind ballistic shields, Hughes “fired a shot with a pistol directly through the window the tactical team was positioned next to,” the affidavit states.
Hughes is charged with five counts of aggravated assault and battery stemming from threats to responding officers, property destruction worth more than $1,000, and a reckless endangering misdemeanor for shooting into the apartment above him.
Casper Police Department spokesperson Amber Freestone said Hughes is no longer employed by the department.
Each aggravated assault and battery charge as well as the property destruction worth more than $1,000 charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and an up to $10,000 fine or both. The reckless endangering charge carries a potential punishment of up to one year in jail.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
