A Lyman man accused of killing another man by shooting him about 10 times last August has agreed to plead guilty to second-degree murder and accept a sentence of between 50 to 75 years in prison.
Skyler Gray, 37, was scheduled to go to trial in Uinta County District Court on Nov. 3., on a first-degree murder charge.
Court documents claim Gray drove to a neighborhood in Fort Bridger the evening of Aug. 31, and accosted Jeremy Jaques, 48.
Gray yelled that Jaques “owed” him, closed the distance between them and shot at Jaques six times – then another four times once Jaques was on the ground, according to court documents and testimony.
Gray drove away, the case evidentiary affidavit says.
Medical and law enforcement personnel arrived to find Jaques dead. There were 10 shell casings on scene, according to prior court testimony.
Second-Degree, Instead
Gray’s defense attorney, Wyoming State Public Defender Brandon Booth, announced to Uinta County District Court Judge James Kaste on Aug. 6 that Gray was accepting a plea agreement instead.
Kaste set Gray’s change-of-plea hearing for next Monday.
Under the plea agreement filed Aug. 5, Gray is set to plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder.
That’s punishable by between 20 years and life in prison.
Gray would face, rather, a term of 50-75 years in prison if Kaste accepts the agreement.
The first-degree murder charge Gray had originally faced is punishable by life in prison or the death penalty. But Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson Kallas announced early in the case she would not seek the death penalty.
Also under the document’s terms, Gray would pay normal court costs and fees, and he may have to pay restitution to the victim’s family and public defender costs.
He agreed to confess to the crime in court.
If Gray does in fact plead guilty on Monday, Kaste then will order a pre-sentence investigation into Gray’s character and history and will schedule a sentencing hearing.
Wife Not Guilty
Gray’s wife Shadawn Oehler was charged last year with being an accessory after the fact, on claims she helped Gray discard the pistol after the shooting.
A jury found her not guilty in June.
Oehler told Cowboy State Daily after her acquittal that she heard the gunshots the night of the incident.
She “assumed” Jaques had been shot but said she didn’t see it, she said.
The gun involved was a .45-caliber pistol. It was Oehler’s own gun, which she’d bought in December 2023.
“I won’t be doing that again,” said Oehler of buying guns. She noted there’s nothing criminal about buying a gun, but even unexpected gunshots in movies make her anxious now.
In the truck along the Business Loop, Oehler said Gray told her in a calm but demanding tone to get rid of the gun.
“I was scared,” she said. “All I wanted to do was protect my children.”
She said she also tried to convince herself that she was having a nightmare and, “I can wake up now.”
She later told law enforcement where she had discarded the gun, court documents say. That’s because she was taking mental notes at the time, Oehler added.
“I just want it all to be done,” said Oehler. “I want my kids to have a normal life — as normal as they can get now.”
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
