The 29-year-old Riverton man who stole a car with a baby still in it the night of this year’s NFL Super Bowl has pleaded guilty to one count of felony kidnapping.
If Fremont County District Court Judge Jason Conder accepts Patrick Dushane Brown’s Friday plea agreement, then Brown could be sentenced to between eight and 10 years in prison or be recommended for a youthful offender “boot camp” program.
His sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 4.
Fremont County Attorney Micah Wyatt said his office is “just pleased he took responsibility for this grievous thing he did.”
‘My Baby!’
The Riverton Police Department released an alert the night of Feb. 9, saying someone had stolen a Ford Escape with a baby in it.
Law enforcement agents found the stolen vehicle west of Riverton at about 8:40 p.m. with the baby in it, but no driver.
Later in the investigation, police learned that a woman was unloading items from her vehicle on College View Drive when someone stole the vehicle with the baby still inside it, according to the case affidavit and scanner traffic at the time.
The thief fled on foot, leaving the vehicle and baby on a rural roadside west of Riverton.
On scene, Cowboy State Daily watched a woman with dark hair arrive near Blue Spruce Lane and Riverview Road where numerous sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement had converged, shouting, “My baby! My baby!”
She gathered a crying baby wrapped in a blanket into her arms and walked toward an ambulance that arrived on scene around the same time to have the baby’s condition checked.
Didn’t Know Baby Was There
Police caught Brown after about five weeks of investigation.
According to the case affidavit, Brown had indicated to someone that he didn’t know the baby was there when he took the vehicle.
Brown reportedly told someone — whose account is in the affidavit — that he heard a baby breathing, then reached back to feel and discovered the baby there.
The temperature was 19 degrees that night.
Plea Agreement Says
In the plea agreement, Brown agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony kidnapping. The charge is a lesser version than the enhanced one he originally faced, punishable by between 20 years and life in prison.
Instead, this version carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.
If Conder agrees to the plea agreement, however, he will sentence Brown to between eight and 10 years in prison, and recommend that Brown be taken into the youthful offender, or boot camp, program rather than prison.
Generally, offenders sent to boot camp petition to have their sentences reduced once they complete the program, which takes months rather than years to complete.
The judge may grant that sentence reduction if he sees fit to do so.
Signing the plea agreement along with Brown were his public defender, Valerie Schoneberger, and the case prosecutor, Fremont County Chief Deputy Attorney Tim Hancock.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
