A Cheyenne man whom police said shrugged off taser blasts and foam-and-plastic rounds while rampaging against local officers is now facing tougher charges under a new prosecutor.
New charges were filed in the felony-level Laramie County District Court on Friday.
Ronald Andrew Romero, 46, originally faced one count of felony police interference on claims he charged Cheyenne Police Department officers in April with a baseball bat, knife and club.
Recently hired prosecutor Laramie County Assistant District Attorney Jack Hatfield II replaced that case with two tougher charges late last month: two counts of aggravated assault.
These charges are normally punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 each, but Hatfield also layered on a “habitual criminal” enhancement, which could make each count punishable by a term of life in prison.
Romero’s initial charge of police interference, in comparison, was punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The Rampage
The alleged rampage started at about 11:15 p.m. April 17, according to an evidentiary affidavit filed in the case.
Cheyenne Police Department Officer James McClaskey and other officers responded to a report of a fight at the intersection of East 5th Street and Van Lennen Avenue in Cheyenne.
Officers spoke with Romero on scene.
Romero charged an officer with a wooden baseball bat, swinging it at waist level and screaming he was going to kill the officer, wrote McClaskey in the affidavit.
Officers kept commanding Romero to drop the bat, but he didn’t, the document adds.
Officers tased Romero twice.
“Romero pulled the taser cables and threw them onto the ground,” wrote McClaskey, adding that the man walked up to the south entrance door of a home and started smacking it with the baseball bat, then throwing glass objects and other things at the officers – hitting them with debris.
Romero ducked into the home through the back door, then reemerged brandishing a knife in his right hand, saying, “Who’s the first one to get stuck with this f***ing blade?” according to McClaskey’s account.
Then Romero walked back inside, the affidavit says.
Shot In The Belly
The document says officers followed him in there and shot two non-lethal 40 mm rounds at Romero, hitting him in the belly area.
Cheyenne Police Department spokeswoman Alexandra Farkas confirmed to Cowboy State Daily on Monday that the non-lethal shots are projectiles with foam tips and plastic bodies.
“Romero appeared to be unfazed by non-lethal attempts and continued to not comply with officer commands to drop the bat,” McClaskey noted. “Romero armed himself with a wooden club and baseball bat again.”
Officers kept negotiating with Romero. The man settled down and started to comply with the officers’ commands and was taken into custody – then to the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center – without further issue, the document says.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
