Daily Darwin

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

<title>Daily Darwin: Monday, March 24, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Darwin: Monday, March 24, 2025

 Although it's not technically a drive-thru, you can always check to make sure.....

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

Crime & Courts

Courts

A Bar Nunn 18-year-old appeared in Natrona County Circuit Court on Monday to face seven felony charges stemming from what prosecutors describe as a "large-scale shootout" that erupted in downtown Casper last week.

Quincy Eureste is the second person charged in the Wednesday shooting, which investigators say involved multiple juveniles and young adults exchanging gunfire in a parking lot near David Street Station.

Police say dozens of spent shell casings littered the scene after the shooting, and investigators found evidence that multiple bullets struck nearby property. 

Remarkably, authorities say they have found no evidence that anyone was hurt.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Second Defendant"}]

Eureste is charged with five counts of aggravated assault, one count of felony property destruction and one of knowingly possessing a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.

If convicted on all seven felony counts and ordered to serve the sentences consecutively, he could face up to 65 years in prison.

His Friday arrest came two days after 16-year-old Tanas Welch was arrested in connection with the same investigation.

[{"type":"text","text":"Welch is being prosecuted as an adult. "}]

During his initial appearance Friday, prosecutors charged him with five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent and felony property destruction.

Police have said additional arrests or charges remain possible as detectives continue investigating the shootout.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"$100,000 Bond"}]

During Monday's hearing, prosecutors characterized the case as a "large-scale shootout in a public space."

Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Sweet set Eureste's bond at $100,000 cash or surety, saying the amount was warranted given the severity of the allegations and the use of firearms.

After bond was set, a Natrona County Sheriff's deputy appeared via video from the detention center and told the court authorities had received information suggesting Eureste's family might try to send him out of state if he were released.

The deputy asked Sweet to require Eureste to waive extradition as a condition of release. Sweet granted the request, meaning Eureste could not contest being returned to Wyoming if he left the state while the criminal case is pending.

The prosecutor said Welch's bond was set at the same amount during a Friday hearing.

Court records also show Eureste was charged with misdemeanor simple battery in Natrona County in 2024.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Downtown Casper"}]

The shooting happened shortly after midnight last Wednesday in the parking lot at 250 W. Yellowstone Highway near David Street Station in downtown Casper.

Responding officers found dozens of spent shell casings scattered across the parking lot, along with evidence that multiple bullets had struck nearby property.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video and interviewed witnesses, ultimately determining that a group of juveniles and young adults had gathered when multiple people began exchanging gunfire.

Police say they have since identified everyone seen on surveillance video. Investigators linked Eureste to the shooting through witness statements and surveillance video, according to the Casper Police Department.

Despite the volume of gunfire, investigators say they have found no evidence that anyone was shot.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"'No Place In Casper'"}]

Detective Valerie Meier said the investigation remains active and detectives are continuing to interview those involved.

"This incident involved multiple people, primarily juveniles, exchanging gunfire in a highly populated public area," Meier said in a statement. "The fact that no one was injured is remarkable, but it will not deter us from holding every person involved accountable."

She continued, "We are investigating this incident to the fullest extent possible. This behavior is dangerous, unacceptable, and has no place in Casper."

An affidavit accompanying the charges was not immediately available after the Monday afternoon in initial appearances in Natrona County Circuit Court.

Quincy Eureste 7 20 269

<title>Bar Nunn 18-Year-Old Charged With 7 Felonies In Downtown Casper Shootout | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Bar Nunn 18-year-old was in court Monday to face seven felony charges stemming from what prosecutors say was a "large-scale shootout" in downtown Casper last week. While dozens of shell casings were found, “remarkably” nobody was shot, police say.

Bar Nunn 18-Year-Old Charged With 7 Felonies In Downtown Casper Shootout

 inside a Rock Springs home as a many allegedly held a woman captive for days and threatened to murder her cat is now headed for trial.

Jake Thomas Canestrini, 24, pleaded not guilty last week in Sweetwater County District Court to a string of felony charges accusing him of holding his girlfriend captive while repeatedly beating, strangling and torturing her with a razor blade, a kitchen fork and a knife.

The not guilty pleas came one week after a judge found there was enough evidence at a preliminary hearing to send the case to district court.

The allegations first surfaced in June after the woman escaped the home and told police she had survived days of escalating violence that left her afraid for her life.  

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How It Started "}]

The woman told investigators the abuse began May 30, shortly after her parents left town.

She and Canestrini had been dating for about three years and were living together at her parents' Rock Springs home.

Not long after they were alone, she said Canestrini threw her to the ground several times and refused to let her leave, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in his case.

"Every time she tried to get up and run, the woman said, Canestrini would yank her by the hair to keep her down," Rock Springs Police Officer Tiffany Harris wrote in her affidavit.

On June 2, Canestrini allegedly called the woman's employer himself and told them she would not be coming to work.

The woman told investigators every attempt to resist or escape only brought more violence.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Razor Blade, Fork And Knife"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The allegations became increasingly disturbing as the days went on."}]

Court records allege Canestrini used a razor blade to cut the woman's thighs, hips, stomach and arm. She also reported being stabbed in the upper back and buttock with a kitchen fork.

She told investigators that during one confrontation, Canestrini allegedly pressed a kitchen knife against her throat.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I will f***ing murder you,\" he allegedly told her."}]

The woman reportedly told police he also said, "I will murder your cat. I will murder your f***ing family if you get the cops involved. I will wait 20 years so I can kill you,” the affidavit says.

The woman says she was strangled multiple times during the ordeal, telling investigators there were moments she couldn't breathe and believed she was going to die.

Medical records cited in the affidavit indicate that a physician later diagnosed her with a concussion.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Escape"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"The woman eventually managed to escape."}]

When officers found her, they documented what court records describe as numerous visible injuries that they believed matched her account of days of abuse.

Investigators later searched the residence and collected additional evidence before Canestrini was arrested.

Cowboy State Daily left a message for Canestrini's attorney, Joseph August Hampton, asking what forms the basis of his client's not guilty plea and if Canestrini disputes the allegations in the charging documents.

[{"type":"text","text":"Hampton did not respond before publication."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"November Trial "}]

Barring a plea agreement or other resolution, a Sweetwater County jury will begin hearing the case Nov. 2.

[{"type":"text","text":"Canestrini remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty."}]

If convicted, he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison.

Under Wyoming law, kidnapping is punishable by 20 years to life in prison if the victim is not voluntarily released substantially unharmed in a safe place before trial.

He also faces additional prison time if convicted of the remaining felony charges.

Jake Thomas Canestrini 6 19 26

<title>Rock Springs Man Accused Of Torturing Girlfriend For Days Pleads Not Guilty | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Rock Springs man accused of holding his girlfriend captive for days while torturing her has pleaded not guilty. Court records allege he warned her: "I will murder your cat. I will murder your family if you get the cops involved."

Rock Springs Man Accused Of Torturing Girlfriend For Days Pleads Not Guilty

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Around 18 months before he won the Republican nomination to a seat in the Wyoming House of Representatives in 2022, Daniel Singh told a podcaster friend that he was pro-choice, progressive, and believed hard drugs should be legal.  

The Cheyenne man, who is now eyeing a contested state Senate seat, said he wanted to build a network of progressives in Cheyenne, according to 

 Cowboy State Daily first accessed Friday.

Singh first won the GOP nomination for House District 61 on Aug. 16, 2022, over two other candidates. He went on to win the general election and was sworn into office in early 2023.  

 of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus during his freshman term.

The caucus is a bloc of House Republicans whose website says they “plan together, work together, and pray together in pursuit of policies that promote truth by protecting life, private property rights, and Judeo-Christian family values.”

 but still aligns with it generally — in about January of this year.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Far-Right Fascist Figure'"}]

About two years before entering office, Singh had described himself as a pro-choice progressive willing to legalize hard drugs. 

He specifically denied being a conservative. That’s according to the podcast by Singh’s longtime, and former, friend Toby Thompson, who is also from Cheyenne but now lives in Georgia.

Upon request, Thompson sent Cowboy State Daily a screenshot of the recording’s data that indicates it was recorded Feb. 28, 2021.

“I have a good one for you today,” begins Thompson’s voiceover introduction to the podcast interview, which he did not publish until Sept. 20, 2024 — after Singh’s second primary election win.

“What you’re about to hear is an interview I conducted with Wyoming House District 61 Representative Daniel Singh,” said Thompson. “This was actually supposed to be the first episode of (podcast) 'Nobody Talks Religion and Politics,' but Daniel asked me to shelve it at the time because he believed it would make it harder to manipulate Republican voters into electing him.”

Thompson said that as Singh’s friend, he complied with that request.

“But after watching him devolve from a progressive leader I could believe in into a far-right fascist figure, I feel my responsibility as a writer and proud Wyomingite outweighs Daniel’s request as my friend,” said Thompson. 

He said he wasn’t publishing the podcast to sabotage Singh and didn’t believe he had enough listeners to influence what was then the upcoming general election.

Thompson said he was publishing it, rather, so Singh would listen to it “and be reminded of the man he was at the start of his political journey.”

[{"type":"text","text":"In a Friday phone interview, Thompson doubled down."}]

“I think Daniel Singh is excellent at political maneuvering and like, reading the writing on the wall,” said Thompson, adding that he believes Singh aligned with the Freedom Caucus to ride “the rise of MAGA politics,” and that he will “ride whatever political wave will keep him in power.”

[{"type":"text","text":"‘I’m Definitely Committed To The Republican Party'"}]

Singh countered in a Friday phone interview, noting that he doesn’t now associate with Thompson, and insisted that he does not hold the views captured in that interview.

“I’m definitely committed to the Republican Party,” said Singh, adding that being pro-life and other party planks aren’t just stances, they’re “timeless truths.”

Singh said he recorded that podcast before getting involved with the Republican Party, and he’s changed his views over time as he’s learned what matters to his community.

“Ronald Reagan started out as a Democrat, and became one of the most influential conservatives of our time,” said Singh. “And people change their minds.”

Singh registered to vote as a Republican in Laramie County in 2016 and has not changed his party affiliation, the Laramie County Clerk’s office confirmed Monday.

[{"type":"text","text":"Singh is 29. He was 24 during the interview with Thompson."}]

 Singh is now running for state Senate in a primary election contest against Republican incumbent Sen. Evie Brennan. The election is Aug. 18. 

Singh’s 2022 and 2024 GOP campaign opponent Matt Malcom told Cowboy State Daily he believes Singh doesn’t believe the Freedom Caucus’ positions.

“I think he’s putting on a show in order to galvanize more support around the issues he cares about,” said Malcom.

Malcom said he campaigned on more moderate positions than Singh in their races.

Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, cast Singh’s Freedom Caucus alignment as a political opportunity.

“It’s really disheartening to see someone throw their personal political beliefs away because they saw an opportunity to join the Freedom Caucus,” said Provenza. “This out-of-state machine that will help them get elected — assuming that’s what Daniel’s beliefs are, or were.”

Provenza added, “It just begs the question of if this system works at all? It’s just sad.”

The Freedom Caucus amassed significant momentum in 2024, telling the public it had gained control of the House. It is part of a larger national network of Freedom Caucus chapters.

House Appropriations Chair and former Freedom Caucus leader John Bear, R-Gillette, ventured a cautious guess on the contrast between Singh’s interview and his generally conservative voting record.

“I would guess he wasn’t masquerading (as a conservative in the Legislature) because he hasn’t changed his voting significantly from when he was more aligned … with the Freedom Caucus,” said Bear.

Singh also made comments during Thompson’s podcast about being an atheist and a stoic. Bear voiced confusion over that, saying his view of Singh’s personal life has indicated Christian missionary activities.

[{"type":"text","text":"“That doesn’t make sense,” said Bear."}]

Singh told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that he is a Christian now, having “had to humble myself and learn firsthand not only what it is I believe, and my personal relationship with God. But how does that apply to my political theory.”

Thompson asked early during the podcast interview what issues matter most to Singh.

“I find myself talking a lot about women having access to abortion, gun laws ... “ began Singh.

[{"type":"text","text":"Thompson interrupted, telling Singh to talk about abortion."}]

“Women have to have access to the medical procedure of an abortion,” said Singh. 

He said that pro-lifers have good intentions, but women denied legal access to abortions will get them illegally and reap worse medical consequences.

“It’s a medical practice and women’s lives are on the line, and this is a decision an individual needs to be able to make,” he said.

During his first legislative session in 2023, Singh cosponsored the Life Is a Human Right Act — a near-total ban on abortion into which the Senate added exemptions for rape and incest — along with a similar ban on abortion pills. 

The Wyoming Supreme Court declared both bans unconstitutional on Jan. 6 of this year, citing the Wyoming Constitution’s promise of health care autonomy.

Singh told Cowboy State Daily on Friday, “I’m definitely pro-life, 100% pro-life. I feel like my voting record reflects that.”

He has voted in favor of pro-life legislation every year since his election.

During his interview with Thompson, Singh voiced passion for gun rights, saying people should be able to have whatever weapons they can afford, and that if everyone is armed, then people may be safer altogether.

While different Republicans vary, the party tends to favor gun rights and gun access.

Singh had told Thompson, according to the podcast recording, that former President Richard Nixon’s war on drugs was a “waste of resources obviously” and an embarrassment.

“Why should the government have a problem if someone smokes some weed on their couch, or does some mushrooms on their weekend in the forest, or even like, smokes some crack in their garage?” Singh had told Thompson. “If they’re not hurting — not doing something that’s actually a crime other than like the drug itself — why are we treating them like animals?”

Society should treat drug addiction like a health problem instead, he said.

In his interview Friday, Singh said he wants the state to reform its drug classifications and “we need to at least get to where President Trump has moved cannabis.”

The president has reclassified many marijuana products as schedule III, meaning they’re recognized as having a medical purpose. Wyoming has chosen against following suit, keeping the drug in the schedule I, non-medical class.

Singh said there are people in Wyoming who use marijuana and aren’t a danger to society, and that, “I don’t think we should treat them like criminals.”

That matches his legislative record. He’s repeatedly tried to run legislation to allow and regulate “consumable hemp” products.

[{"type":"text","text":"Singh differed Friday from his 2021 stance on “crack,” or cocaine."}]

“Crack is a problem. We don’t want crack,” Singh said with a laugh. “Crack actually destroys communities.”

He added, “But using the war on drugs to infringe upon civil liberties is something I disagree with.”

[{"type":"text","text":"On Party Politics"}]

Singh told Thompson in 2021 that he’d like to see the establishment of an explicitly progressive party in Cheyenne. He criticized the national mainstream Democratic establishment.

He also said “a bunch of, like, 60-year-old ranch hands that have a very, like, particular view of how the world works” have had the power to dictate what it means to be from Wyoming.

“But the people who don’t agree with … the Judeo-Christian, white nationalistic view of what America is but would rather see America be different,” said Singh, “our voices are pretty much suppressed.”

Wyoming’s political binary isn’t between Republican and Democrat, but between Republicans and “progressives with the support of the Democratic party,” said Singh. 

He said progressives can often explain their stances to conservatives “if you frame your arguments right.”

“If we want political change we need energy, we need bravery, we need boldness, we need charisma; like, we need to fight as if we’re fighting for real political power and we have a chance to win it,” said Singh. “Because we do have a chance to win it.”

Singh voiced support for nuclear energy, a nationwide high-speed rail system, and automating farming. He said he’s not opposed to the government owning land, “if it’s for, like, state parks. Stuff like that.”

Singh in recent months has voiced a strong Christian faith on his political Facebook page. He told Cowboy State Daily on Friday that is sincere.

In 2021, he told Thompson he identified as a stoic, meaning: “living according to virtue, and according to nature.” 

He described the value of focusing on one’s actions rather than his plight.

He denied the existence of God and the human soul. He said a human’s life is a gift one shouldn’t waste.  

“I think I wrestled with (faith) for a long time when I was young,” said Singh in his Friday interview. “I think a lot of young people wrestle with that. 

"And as life has gone on, it’s just been so absolutely crystal clear to me that there’s a God out there, and Jesus specifically died on the cross for my sins.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Nazi Shit’"}]

In Thompson’s 2024 voiceover on the podcast, he addressed Singh, called Singh’s 2021 statements “beautiful,” and said, “It’s never too late to stop doing Nazi shit.”

Thompson elaborated in a Friday email to Cowboy State Daily, defining “Nazi shit” in part as: “targeting/scapegoating of racial and gender minorities,” “targeting public library and education systems in what amounts to the contemporary equivalent of book burning.” 

Thompson added, “hyper-nationalism and blind allegiance to a single executive figurehead that has been unconstitutionally centralizing power in his own hands could also fit the fascist bill.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Thompson did not point to any legislation specifically.  "}]

Singh was the lead sponsor on the 2024 House Bill 193, which sought to ban local Wyoming governments from implementing immigration sanctuary-city policies. He voted in favor this year of the failed House Bill 10, which sought to regulate sexually graphic books in school and public libraries.

The bill did not call for book burning or bans, but would have given disgruntled community members an avenue to sue if librarians refuse to move sexually explicit books to the adult section or, in the case of school libraries, out of the library.

Thompson said the friends parted ways after a rift that was both personal and political.

Singh said in a Monday phone interview, “Toby’s free to have his opinions.”

He referenced the old political aphorism, “If you’re not a socialist at 20, you have no heart; if you are a socialist at 40, you have no head.”

“That really resonated with me,” added Singh. “I think it’s good people are able to grow and learn.”

Daniel Singh 7 20 26

<title>GOP Rep Says He's Changed Since He Identified As Progressive, Pro-Choice, Atheist | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Rep. Daniel Singh, an incumbent Republican from Cheyenne who was once a member of the Freedom Caucus, says he's changed since identifying as a pro-choice, progressive atheist in a recently surfaced 2021 podcast interview. "People change their minds," he said.

GOP Rep Says He's Changed Since He Identified As Progressive, Pro-Choice, Atheist

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

Andrew Rossi

Outdoors

Two tourists were seen getting dangerously and illegally close to Grand Prismatic Spring on Sunday in Yellowstone National Park, enraging hundreds of spectators and millions of internet onlookers.

Tanya Saueressig of Livingston, Montana, was visiting Yellowstone with a friend when she witnessed the incident. She was standing on the Grand Prismatic boardwalk around 7 p.m. during what was otherwise a pleasant evening.

“It was a really nice crowd,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “People on the boardwalk were being lovely, giving each other space, and being quiet. It was a really nice experience.”

Saueressig was getting her final look of the evening when she saw something moving across the expansive microbial mats toward Grand Prismatic.

“I stopped in my tracks and was like, ‘Is that people? That can't be people. Nobody's that dumb,’” she said. 

[{"type":"text","text":"After all, temperatures in the spring run from 145 - 188 degrees. Deadly."}]

But, it was people. Two women, who appeared to be approaching the massive hot spring from the Fairy Falls Trail, which runs along the western edge of Grand Prismatic.

Saueressig's lovely evening quickly soured, as she was immediately overwhelmed by a wave of different emotions.

“I started getting scared because I thought they were going to fall in and get really, really hurt,” she said. “I worried people at the overlook were going to watch someone die that day. They were out there where nobody could help them.”

Concern quickly turned to anger. As she watched the women nonchalantly walk along the edge of Grand Prismatic, within 50 feet of its scalding-hot water, she got “so furious that I literally had tears in my eyes.”

“You could tell they were just strolling along, taking their selfies, without a care in the world,” she said. “They were totally oblivious to what was right under their feet. You're causing so much damage with every step you take, and you don't care.”

Someone else filmed the dark-haired duo 

. That video has been viewed millions of times in less than 24 hours. 

There’s no word on whether the individuals in the videos were identified or reported to Yellowstone's law enforcement rangers.

“I was so angry,” Saueressig said. “It was so mind-boggling to me that they would be out there in the first place.”

Walking on the fragile microbial mats around Grand Prismatic Spring and Yellowstone's many thermal features is a crime, punishable by fines, incarceration, and a multi-year ban from Yellowstone.

 in the park. That hasn’t stopped others from 

Greg Jackson, a former deputy chief for the National Park Service’s Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services in Washington, D.C., called this type of tourist “the 0.1%.”

“Some people see the world differently than the mainstream,” he said. “You build an infrastructure that's dedicated to the 99.9% of people that don’t do this, and then you get people who don’t see that infrastructure or decide it doesn’t apply to them.”

Many people plead ignorance when charged with thermal trespass, saying they weren’t aware they were violating any rules or that they saw no signs in the immediate area where they were caught.

In Jackson’s opinion, it doesn’t matter how much the National Park Service does to prevent this kind of behavior. Nothing stops the 0.1%.

“I’ve seen people climb over guardrails to keep them from falling off a cliff for a better picture,” he said. “You can create as much of a deterrent as you can, but some people aren’t deterred by what would deter most people. Those outliers walk among us.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“Helpless”"}]

Two tourists got dangerously and illegally close to Grand Prismatic Spring on Sunday in Yellowstone. Montana resident Tanya Saueressig, who filmed them taking selfies right next to the scalding water, said she "was so furious" she had tears in her eyes.

Daily Darwin: Monday, March 24, 2025

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