Uinta County’s elected prosecutor will not seek the death penalty in the first-degree murder case of a Lyman man accused of gunning down another man across from the Fort Bridger post office in August.
Skyler Gray, 36, now faces the potential of life in prison if convicted.
“The state will not seek the death penalty in the event of a conviction herein,” wrote Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas in a Nov. 13 filing, in Uinta County District Court.
Gray’s jury trial is set for March 18.
He’s accused of driving to the neighborhood in Fort Bridger the evening of Aug. 31, and accosting Jeremy Jaques, 48.
Gray yelled that Jaques “owed” him, closed the distance between the distances and shot at Jaques six times – then another four times once Jaques was on the ground, according to court documents and testimony.
Gray drove away, the case evidentiary affidavit says.
Medical and law enforcement personnel arrived to find Jaques dead. There were 10 shell casings on scene, according to prior court testimony.
Though Wyoming is a death-penalty state, the process for imposing that sentence is rigorous.
A person convicted of first-degree murder gets a second jury trial regarding whether he should receive the death penalty, if that's what the prosecutor is seeking.
The jury can't make a finding that he should receive the death penalty unless it confirms there was at least one aggravating circumstance. The list of those aggravating circumstances is lengthy, but includes things like, the murder was especially atrocious or cruel; was done for hire; or it looks like a pattern of continuing violence.
Meanwhile
Meanwhile, Gray’s wife Shadawn Oehler, 34, faces one count of accessory after the fact to murder, on allegations that she helped Gray get rid of the gun by throwing it out of the window of their vehicle as they left the scene.
She’s set for a scheduling conference Nov. 27 in Evanston Circuit Court.
