A 61-year-old Wapiti woman was arrested last week after firing a gun at state troopers and Park County Sheriff’s deputies, officials say.
The Park County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a resident on Cloudy Drive in Wapiti at about 9:01 p.m. Friday, saying a neighbor had fired a gun in their direction, according to a statement the sheriff’s spokesman Monte McClain released Wednesday.
Deputies responded to the scene.
A dispatcher told them during the drive that the shooter was believed to be Mary A. Lindemann, 61, and that she’d fired a gun close enough to the 911 caller for him or her to see the rounds impact the dirt road in front of them.
Deputies and a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper arrived on scene and used two patrol vehicles to approach the Lindemann home, “keeping under the cover afforded by the vehicles,” the statement says.
Lindemann had by then retreated into her home, turned off the lights and started blasting music, the statement says.
The two patrol vehicles parked at the bottom of the driveway with their headlights turned off to prevent backlighting the deputies – about 50 yards from the home, the statement says.
“Using a combination of night vision and thermal optics, deputies were able to see Ms. Lindemann exit the residence onto her deck where she discharged another round to the north of the residence perpendicular to the patrol vehicles,” reads the sheriff’s statement.
Deputies yelled out that they were from the sheriff’s office, and for the suspect to put down the firearm.
She pointed it in their direction and fired off another round, which passed over the “responding units,” adds the statement.
The statement says the deputies and the trooper kept yelling for her to put the gun down and stop firing, but she shot again toward them.
“Also during this time, neighbors were driving on the road and their headlights were illuminating the scene making it unsafe for them,” says the statement.
Lindemann yelled profanities at them and told them to leave.
Deputies called in the Cody Police Department and sheriff’s office joint tactical team to the home.
A neighbor, 59-year-old Mark Schulz, approached deputies and told them he wanted to speak with Lindemann, the statement says.
They told him to leave due to the danger, and he “finally agreed,” the sheriff’s office wrote. But he parked his vehicle elsewhere and walked to the Lindemann home on foot in the dark instead, adds the document.
When the tactical team arrived, they shined a spotlight on the home and saw Lindemann and Schulz both standing on the front deck.
“The tactical team were able to approach the deck and take them both into custody at 11:20 p.m.,” says the statement.
The statement says Lindemann was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon – which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
Schulz was arrested for interference with a peace officer, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines if the defendant wasn’t trying to injure an officer.
“Alcohol is suspected as playing a factor in the events as they unfolded,” the statement says. “This investigation is not complete yet and additional charges may be put forth as the investigation evolves.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
