The 21-year-old Crowheart, Wyoming, man accused of tearing up the Kinnear Post Office last month is now facing a federal felony instead of a state one.
It's a result at which the state's prosecutor hinted from the start, since the post office is federal property.
The Fremont County Attorney’s Office asked permission last week to drop its felony property-destruction case against Averey Burnett.
District Court Judge Kate McKay granted that request Monday and dismissed the case.
That came roughly two weeks after the U.S. Attorney for Wyoming charged Burnett in the federal court, with one count of robbing a post office.
Often when defendants’ cases switch into federal court, their potential penalties increase. But this case is different: Burnett faces a penalty of up to five years in prison under the federal charge, whereas he’d faced up to 11 under the state’s felony property destruction (maximum 10 years) and police interference (maximum one year) with which he was originally charged April 9.
Burnett was released Tuesday on a $10,000 unsecured bond, court documents say. That means he did not need to post the $10,000 up front to be released from jail.
This One, Not Sure
The state’s prosecutor on May 1 also dropped the felony property destruction charge filed last month against Omar Tillman, 24, of Riverton, who was accused of destroying the post office with Burnett. The prosecutor’s motion to dismiss cites the “best interest of the state.”
As of Wednesday, no public federal charges against Tillman had surfaced.
It's unclear whether Tillman will face prosecution.
Fremont County Attorney Micah Wyatt wrote in a Wednesday text message that Tillman's case was dismissed so that "the entire matter (could) proceed in a single court," and because the subject of the alleged destruction was federal property.
As for the U.S. Attorney's Office, its spokeswoman indicated the federal prosecutor's office isn't taking the case at this time.
"We reviewed all possible federal charging options and referred it back to the state for appropriate prosecution," wrote U.S. Attorney for Wyoming spokeswoman Lori Hogan in a Wednesday email.
Two Fremont County men in their 20s are accused of trashing the post office of tiny Kinnear, Wyoming, early Monday morning. They were found afterward, passed out in a running truck, court documents say. (Courtesy Lori Davidson) 
Two Fremont County men in their 20s are accused of trashing the post office of tiny Kinnear, Wyoming, early Monday morning. They were found afterward, passed out in a running truck, court documents say. (Courtesy Lori Davidson)
Court Documents Say
Fremont County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jesse Moss responded to the U.S. Post Office in Kinnear at about 4 a.m. Monday morning on a report that two men were trying to break in, says an evidentiary affidavit in the state’s case.
Deputy Nate Meeker also responded, the document says.
A male eyewitness told deputies on scene that he saw two men smash the windows out of the post office and force their way into the building.
The same eyewitness, who asked not to be identified by name for fear of reprisals, told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday phone interview that the suspects “destroyed everything that was attached to anything,” though “I have zero idea why.”
They seemed drunk and were “definitely being pretty weird,” he added.
The two men got into a gold or tan Chevy Silverado pickup with Wyoming plates and left, headed west on Highway 26, according to law enforcement reports from the time.
Moss told dispatch he’d patrol 17 Mile Road on the Wind River Indian Reservation, but he didn’t find the pickup there.
Meeker arrived at the Post Office in the meantime and found it damaged, inside and out, says the affidavit.
Wind River Police Department Officer Heyer, no first name given, joined the search.
Found
At about 4:40 a.m., Moss arrived at the post office and noticed the windows broken out, the document says. He heard Heyer on the radio, telling dispatch he found the Chevy on Highway 26, in Kinnear.
Two men were passed out in the vehicle, and it was still running with its transmission set in reverse, the officer added.
Moss arrived six minutes later and found the pickup as Heyer had said: facing west toward Dubois, blocking a driveway and possibly posing a traffic hazard, says the affidavit.
The only thing stopping the pickup from backing up was Burnett’s foot lodged on the brake pedal as he slumped passed out in the driver’s seat, the document says, adding that Tillman was slumped unconscious in the passenger seat.
A large bottle of yellow-green liquid lay in Burnett’s lap. Tillman had a plastic bag or can of liquid in his lap, the document alleges.
Quickly, says the affidavit, Heyer unlocked the truck through the open passenger-side window, then Moss opened the driver’s side door, slid the shifter into park while Burnett’s foot still pressed the brake, pulled the keys from the ignition and placed them on the hood.
The document says Burnett reeked of alcohol and refused to leave the vehicle, and cursed Moss while threatening to fight him.
Moss pulled Burnett from the driver’s seat and tried handcuffing him. A struggle followed, the affidavit says, leading Moss to jerk Burnett down to the ground and warn him he’d be tased if he didn’t calm down.
The sergeant managed to secure Burnett in handcuffs.
Meanwhile, Heyer tried to gain control of Tillman, the document says.
Moss found a wallet and vape pen in Burnett’s pocket, reportedly. Heyer handcuffed Tillman and put him in his own patrol vehicle, but Meeker arrived and took custody of Tillman in his deputy vehicle.
Witness Says
The eyewitness spoke with Moss, saying he woke to the sound of someone pounding on his door, saying, “I need something.”
The witness spoke with Burnett, whom he recognized. Then he walked away to get his landlord to call the sheriff’s office, the witness added in his Cowboy State Daily interview.
After that, his senses on high alert, he kept tracking Burnett’s movements and heard the crashing of the post office destruction, he said.
When Moss took Burnett to the jail, another sergeant searched the man there and found postal service keys in Burnett’s pockets as well as a large piece of glass, says the affidavit. At about 7 a.m., Burnett gave a breath-alcohol sample reading 0.136%, reportedly.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
