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

<title>Daily Smile: Wednesday, November 12, 2025 | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Daily Smile: Wednesday, November 12, 2025

 When they get old, they stop hearing the door open when you get home from work....

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Crime & Courts

Public Safety

BAGGS — Waking up in this usually sleepy town of 411 people Tuesday morning, you wouldn’t know that only eight hours earlier it was the scene of a major multi-state response to an active shooter that ended with a Carbon County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot multiple times and a dead suspect.

As late as 10 p.m. Monday, the initial crime scene ­— a nondescript off-yellow, two-story apartment building — was surrounded by dozens of law enforcement vehicles and crime-scene tape a stone’s throw from southbound Wyoming Highway 789.

Along with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, Rawlins Police Department and at least a half-dozen other agencies from Wyoming and northern Colorado had responded.

[{"type":"text","text":"By 6 a.m. Tuesday, it was business as usual around Baggs — almost."}]

Folks were up early and in their heavy-duty trucks on their way to job sites, the pickups dusty in a way that says they work as hard as their drivers.

They did their usual rounds, stopping for breakfast, coffee, and a little gossip to start the day.

On Tuesday, there was little gossip as conversations were dominated by Monday’s deadly incident.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"‘It’s Just What We Do’"}]

Now in her 80s, Linda Fleming grew up in Baggs and has lived her life teaching generations of local kids, along with serving a stint as the town’s mayor in the 1980s.

She called Monday’s deadly shootout “something tragic” that also highlights the hero spirit of first responders, along with the neighbors who helped the deputy after being shot multiple times until an ambulance could arrive.

“The most immediate (heroes) were the neighbors who rallied for that deputy,” she told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday morning.

Inquiries to the Carbon County Sheriff’s and coroner’s offices for more information about Monday’s shooting were not returned by the time this story was published. That includes the condition of the deputy and the identification and cause of death of the suspected shooter.

Fleming said she’s not surprised regular people reportedly sprang into action to help the deputy, along with local EMS that was at the scene quickly.

“It’s just what we do,” she said. “We don’t have any local police, so people help and don’t give it a second thought.”

She also said that while violent episodes like Monday’s have become rare for Baggs, that wasn’t always the case.

“I was mayor in the ’80s when we had a pretty serious drug problem at that time,” Fleming said. “But we didn’t have anything like the shooting of a police officer.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Usual Suspects"}]

At the Stage Stop General Store, the usual suspects were in their usual places, sipping coffee from the four stools at the front of the store by the checkout counter.

Like clockwork, as one of the “old geezers” — as one described the group — got up and left, another filtered in to take the empty stool.

The usual gossip was replaced Tuesday with talk about the shooting, the manhunt for the suspect, and then the ultimate ending with a deputy flown to a Colorado hospital with multiple gunshot wounds and a dead suspect.

“I’m reading about it right now on Cowboy State Daily,” said the local on the far end, holding up his phone.

They’re all talkers, until asked their names. “Oh, gee, I guess I forgot it,” one silver-haired coffee drinker quipped, making them all laugh.

What they weren’t vague about was their shock over what happened, and the resulting hourslong shelter-in-place order that shut down the town.

It was the same at the Cowboy Inn Restaurant, where server Brett Ferrier said a full dining room of customers was not allowed to leave.

She also echoed Fleming’s sentiment that she’s not surprised the deputy may owe his life to those fast-acting neighbors.

“This is the best place I’ve lived,” said Ferrier, adding that she moved to the area just last September. “These are real neighbors, they have your back and they’re so welcoming.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Little We Know"}]

Nearly 24 hours after local residents were notified via text message of an “active assailant in Baggs area. Please shelter in place,” there’s still little information about a possible motive for the shooting and the condition of the deputy.

In a late-night report Monday, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken confirmed that “the suspect opened fire on the initial responding deputy, striking him several times.”

The suspect then “fled the scene in a small truck,” the report says. “Additional responding deputies and troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol engaged in a pursuit with the suspect vehicle on Highway 789 north of Baggs.”

During the pursuit, the suspect again “opened fire on law enforcement … before driving off the highway and coming to a stop.”

The report then says that the suspect “was declared deceased at the scene,” but it’s not clear how the suspect died or if anything happened between the time the vehicle came to a stop and the suspect was declared dead.

“Please keep our injured deputy and their family in your thoughts and prayers,” the report ends.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Blue Wall"}]

Law enforcement agencies around Wyoming are doing just that, posting messages of support and sympathy for the injured Carbon County deputy and the sheriff’s office. A sampling of those:

 “Please keep all the first responders in Carbon County in your prayers and specifically for the deputy who was shot yesterday in Baggs.”

 “The Wyoming law enforcement community is a small one and today our hearts are with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office.”

 “Our thoughts and prayers remain with the injured deputy, they’re loved ones, and the entire Carbon County Sheriff’s Office following yesterday’s tragic incident.

“Moments like these are a stark reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face in service to their communities. We ask everyone to keep the deputy, their family, and all those affected in their thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.”

Closer to home, Baggs residents like Fleming and Ferrier are shocked, but not disheartened by Monday’s violence.

“Our little community of Little Snake River was put into lockdown cause of an active shooter,” posted Stacy Overton to Facebook. “Our community is shaken (by) the recent events of today.”

Meanwhile, what looked like a scene from an action movie set most of the day and night Monday appeared virtually normal by Tuesday morning.

Gone was the small fleet of law enforcement vehicles representing multiple jurisdictions, along with the fire engines and crime scene tape.

At least most of it, with one string of yellow tape still visible at the property. The small army that had responded the day before was reduced to one Carbon County deputy standing at the perimeter of the scene.

At the Cowboy Inn, Ferrier was too busy Tuesday to think much about the previous day’s excitement. The lunch rush was coming.

This is a developing story that will be updated as more information on Monday’s active shooter incident is available from authorities.

Baggs green sign inset

<title>Deadly Shootout In Baggs, Wyoming: Neighbors Helped Deputy After Shot By Suspect | Cowboy State Daily</title>

The day after a gunfight that left a deputy shot and the suspect dead in Baggs, Wyoming, former mayor Linda Fleming said it's no surprise neighbors rushed to help the fallen deputy. “It's just what we do. People don’t give it a second thought," she said.

Deadly Shootout In Baggs, Wyoming: Neighbors Helped Deputy After Shot By Suspect

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

CASPER — A 21-year-old Casper man accused of grabbing a 

 and biting him in the groin pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Natrona County District Court on Tuesday.

Sylvester Jakeson Seaton appeared before Judge Kerri Johnson for his arraignment with defense attorney Marty Scott. He told the judge that he had dyslexia but had read the affidavit containing the charges against him “only about 20 times.”

Johnson went over the charges that include three counts of felony interference with a peace officer stemming from injuries he allegedly inflicted on two Casper police officers and one count of misdemeanor interference for his actions impeding their investigation on April 19. 

Seaton said he understood the charges and potential penalties. Johnson asked how he would plead to the charges.

“Not guilty,” he said. “I would request all body cam footage.”

Scott asked the judge to reduce Seaton’s bond from $50,000 cash or surety to $20,000 cash or surety. He said his client only has a minor criminal history.

Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Pat LeBrun argued that the bond should remain where it is and that Seaton’s previous charge also involved interference with a police officer.

“He employed a rather extreme level of violence,” LeBrun said. “The affidavit indicates a significant danger to the community.”

Scott countered and told the judge he believed there were “some mental health issues” with his client.

Johnson ruled that the bond was appropriate where it was set.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The Background"}]

Charges against Seaton stem from a call to 911 about 10 p.m. on April 19 regarding a disturbance in the 1400 block of Kearny Avenue in Casper. A woman reported that she was hearing “yelling, screaming,” and things breaking in a nearby back yard.

Arriving officers were told by a resident that people living in a small camper in his back yard were causing the disturbance. He gave officers permission to investigate.

When officers approached the camper, they saw two men and one woman inside. A 26-year-old man inside the camper was seen pulling a box cutter from his pocket, opening the blade, and crouching on the floor near the door of the camper, a police affidavit states.

A 20-year-old woman opened the camper door and closed it behind her. An officer told her he saw the man with the box cutter, the affidavit states. She told the man to drop the weapon, and when she opened the door again officers saw the man bleeding from his left arm.

“(The man) advised he cut himself to see if his knife was still sharp,” the affidavit states. The arm was bleeding significantly.

One of the officers then addressed Seaton, who appeared “dazed,” “confused,” and “possibly intoxicated.”

As one officer dealt with the bleeding man, Seaton got up and tried to leave the camper. Still trying to determine if the bleeding man was a victim or needed medical attention, officers instructed Seaton not to walk away.

The affidavit states instead Seaton approached one of the officers and to de-escalate the situation Seaton was put in handcuffs despite his “actively” resisting and trying to pull away and escape.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Continued To Fight"}]

When Seaton continued to fight, he was placed on the ground while the other man and woman were in the camper and could be observed. 

Despite police commands and requests to “relax,” Seaton continued rolling on the ground resisting and got his hands on one of the officer’s testicles and was able to “grab them away” from the officer’s body, the affidavit states

The officer pulled away, but Seaton allegedly kept hold of his testicles and pants, while at the same time biting the shin of the officer’s partner “breaking the skin” and causing bruising.

Meanwhile, Seaton was struck in the face twice by the officer whose testicles he held, which was “effective” in getting the 21-year-old to let go.

Additional officers arrived to help control Seaton on the ground in preparation for putting him in a full-body restraint system. 

Seaton continued to fight and roll on the ground and maneuvered his head and mouth to the groin area of the same officer whose testicles he had grabbed.

“(Seaton) bit (the officer) in the upper right groin area ripping (the officer’s) pants and causing an abrasion in the inner groin that broke the skin and caused bleeding,” the affidavit states.

The officer said it felt like he had been stabbed in the groin and he hit Seaton again in the face, which made Seaton roll away to his other side where he appeared to try to bite other officers, the affidavit states.

Officers finally gained control of Seaton and he was placed in a restraint. 

Both officers involved were treated by Banner Wyoming Medical Center for their injuries.

All three felony interference charges stemming from biting the shin of one officer and pulling the testicles and biting the groin of the other each carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The misdemeanor interference charge is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Testicle grab man 6 9 26

<title>Casper Man Pleads Not Guilty To Yanking Police Officer’s Testicles, Biting Groin | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A 21-year-old Casper man pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to grabbing and repeatedly pulling on a police officer’s testicles, biting his groin, and biting another officer. The three felony charges each carry a potential of 10 years in prison.

Casper Man Pleads Not Guilty To Yanking Police Officer’s Testicles, Biting Groin

Law Enforcement

Editor's note: Cowboy State Daily managing editor Greg Johnson is in Baggs and will update the story when new information is available.

— It was a busier-than-usual Monday at the Cowboy Inn Restaurant, Bar and Motel along Wyoming Highway 789 near the southern edge of town, which in this hamlet of 411 people near the Colorado border is about a two-minute drive from the northern end.

Across the highway, more than a dozen law enforcement vehicles were parked on the shoulder of the southbound lane. They represented nearly as many agencies from across central and southern Wyoming and northern Colorado.

They’ve all responded to a small, faded yellow, two-story apartment building that’s cordoned off with crime scene tape, along with a couple of nearby houses.

They’d been there since about noon, responding to reports of an 

 and a brief search for the suspect, according to a “shelter in place” order sent to area residents that said authorities were looking for an “active assailant.”

Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark Monday, law enforcement personnel described the active shooter incident and manhunt, where at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a trooper’s car was “shot up.”

For Baggs Mayor Matthew Howell, that was the beginning of a long waiting game. He told Cowboy State Daily at about 7:15 p.m. Monday that his home is near the apartment building and that he wasn’t yet allowed back.

Earlier in the day, he described the situation to Cowboy State Daily simply as “it’s not good,” and declined to comment further, saying he wanted to wait until the initial investigation was over to know just what went down before possibly talking out of turn.

He reiterated that response later in the day and deferred further questions to investigators.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Hanging Out"}]

Howell was one of dozens hanging out near and in the Cowboy Inn parking lot throughout Monday afternoon and evening.

There was only one topic of conversation: whatever happened in that apartment and how unusual it is for a law enforcement response this heavy in their quiet, small town.

“Oh yeah, this is for sure the most exciting thing that’s happened in … I can’t remember,” said one longtime resident eating a burger and fries from the tailgate of a pickup.

Like most people Cowboy State Daily spoke with, she declined to give and name, but was friendly and upbeat while gazing across the highway with concern.

At about 7 p.m., the parade of law enforcement vehicles cordoning off the apartment property from the highway parted to make way for a large trailer with “Sweetwater County Bomb Squad” printed on it.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Initial Response"}]

By 9 p.m., there still hadn’t been any official reports about what happened or confirmation of the earlier emergency scanner traffic that reported an injured law officer.

That scanner traffic erupted at about 12:55 p.m. when a female dispatcher informed units that a “lady” had called to report a man emerged from a home near or about 49 West Cedar Street.

“He came out of the house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he’s walking around trying to get into an apartment,” the female dispatcher related from the caller’s report. “RP (reporting party) says he has tactical equipment on.”

The male had red hair, a mustache, no shirt, and green camo pants, the dispatcher related. She’d later add from a secondhand description that he had a fanny pack containing ammunition.

A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper who called himself “132” said he was on his way.

“He’s gone into apartment No. 1, and now he came out and he’s heading back upstairs,” the dispatcher narrated.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"The man still had a gun, she added."}]

The reports continued, relating that the man fled north in a pickup and at one point was “now shooting at the patrol vehicle.”

In the meantime, the bar at the Cowboy Inn was lively with chatter about the “active assailant” incident, mostly starting with, “I heard …” as officers and personnel from various sheriff’s and police departments filtered in and out.

By closing time — which in Baggs comes at 8:30 — the scene across the road hadn’t changed much.

Baggs Sweetwater County Bomb Squad arrives 6 8 26

<title>‘Active Assailant’ And Officer Shot Reports Has Baggs On Edge | Cowboy State Daily</title>

It was a busier-than-usual Monday at the Cowboy Inn along Wyoming Highway 789 near the southern edge of Baggs. Across the road is an apartment building where an “active assailant” incident began that included reports of an officer being shot.

‘Active Assailant’ And Officer Shot Reports Has Baggs On Edge

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

Clair McFarland

Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark at around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the dispatchers, officers, deputies and troopers on it described an 

 and manhunt in which at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper’s car was “shot up.”

The saga ended with scanner reports saying the fleeing truck had come to a stop, and one person was dead inside it. 

Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken announced via press release late Monday evening that the shooter died on scene. 

"The subject opened fire on the initial responding deputy, striking him several times," the statement reads.

"The suspect fled the scene in a small truck.  Additional responding deputies and troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol engaged in a pursuit with the suspect vehicle on Highway 789 north of Baggs. 

"The suspect opened fire on law enforcement again before driving off the highway and coming to a stop. The suspect was declared deceased at the scene. 

"The wounded deputy was transported to a medical facility in Colorado by Intermountain Air Ambulance."

[{"type":"text","text":"How It Unfolded"}]

The public learned of the incident when Carbon County emergency services called for a shelter in place due to an active shooter situation around 1 p.m. 

Scanner traffic erupted at about that time, when a female dispatcher informed units that a “lady” had called to report a man emerged from a home near or about 49 West Cedar Street, Baggs. That's across the road from the mayor's home. 

The man "came out of the house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he’s walking around trying to get into an apartment,” the female dispatcher related from the caller’s report. “RP (reporting party) says he has tactical equipment on.”

A Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper who called himself “132” said he was on his way.

“He’s gone into apartment number one, and now he came out and he’s heading back upstairs,” the dispatcher narrated.

[{"type":"text","text":"The man still had a gun, she added."}]

“He’s getting into a small black truck at this time,” said the dispatcher. Male officers, troopers or deputies pressed the dispatcher for a better description of the truck, and after several minutes personnel said it was reportedly a Toyota Tacoma.

The man headed north through Baggs. The caller didn’t know his name or who he was, the dispatcher said.

One male law enforcement officer said one of the officers was stopping the vehicle.

“Subject is now shooting at the patrol vehicle,” said a male voice on the scanner.

Personnel called in night shift deputies or troopers. They asked for help from Moffat County Colorado, which reportedly later sent two drones along with other help. They asked for a special response team from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.

“It appears one of the apartments is on fire,” said the dispatcher at about 1:18 p.m. Eyewitnesses in Baggs said the fire was related to the shooting and chase. 

Traffic indicated at some point the fleeing black truck turned back south. 

The town clerk told personnel, reportedly, that shooting sounds resounded “up on the hill south of Baggs,” said a male officer.

One man asked if law enforcement personnel had heard from a deputy called “66.”

[{"type":"text","text":"“That is negative,” answered the dispatcher."}]

Later someone on the scanner said that residents of the area were “applying aid to 66” and that “66 is down,” while the suspect had fled northward in the black Tacoma.

The sheriff’s evening statement says the suspect opened fire and struck the deputy several times. The deputy was flown to care in Colorado. 

[{"type":"text","text":"Multiple parties on the scanner coordinated medical personnel responses."}]

At 1:29 p.m. a male trooper or other officer shouted, “Shots fired! Shots fired! He’s shooting at – “

[{"type":"text","text":"“He’s right there,” an agent added after a brief silence. "}]

[{"type":"text","text":"What Trooper 132 Saw"}]

Around this time the scene was unfolding around mile marker 40 on Highway 789.

[{"type":"text","text":"“Shots fired!” said a male voice again."}]

“He hit my windshield,” said a male voice that sounded like the trooper called 132. “Getting water, he hit my tire.”

But 132 wasn’t done with the incident. He asked a deputy called “64” to pick him up and take him to the next part of the incident so he could keep helping.

A deputy called “68” reported, while catching his breath audibly, that personnel had a “barricaded suspect” just off a two-track or county road, headed west, but that by then, “we have no movement.”

The dispatcher said a special response team had been “activated.” That was about 1:40 p.m.

[{"type":"text","text":"Agents coordinated shutting the highway down."}]

“Sounds like he’s barricaded in the vehicle,” said a male. “I know he shot at 132.”

One agent asked if he should bring an “OIS Bag,” or officer-involved shooting kit.

[{"type":"text","text":"“I don’t know if 132 fired a round or not,” answered the male."}]

The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation confirmed via email to Cowboy State Daily that it was asked Monday afternoon to respond to an officer-involved shooting south of Baggs.

At least one agent requested a “Bear Cat” armored vehicle. It’s unclear where that vehicle was coming from: agents mentioned both Sweetwater County and Casper.

Meanwhile, a “potential structure fire and chemical situation” reportedly progressed on Cedar Street.

[{"type":"text","text":"A propane leak “appears to be there on purpose,” said a dispatcher."}]

The suspect’s vehicle was stationary. Agents weren’t sure if the suspect was still in the vehicle. The final shot was fired at about 1:08, an officer said.

[{"type":"text","text":"Someone called for a bomb squad. "}]

Cowboy State Daily asked the Carbon County Fire District to confirm whether, as scanner traffic indicated, propane tanks had exploded, and the department said it could not confirm.

The trooper known as 132 asked someone to shoot several photographs of his vehicle for the investigation.

“You can’t miss it, it’s a highway patrol car on the side of the road that’s shot up,” said 132.  

Officers wondered aloud if the suspect had fled on foot or was still in the vehicle. Multiple drones were on the way to confirm.

“One occupant deceased,” said an officer, adding a directive to notify the coroner. 

Bakken confirmed late in the evening that the shooter was dead on scene. It’s unclear how he died.

The Sweetwater County bomb squad responded to the apartment complex around 6:45 p.m. 

The Carbon County Sheriff's Office lifted its shelter in place notification for the town of Baggs at 7:48 p.m. - nearly seven hours after implementing it. 

[{"type":"text","text":"\"I Passed 17 Emergency Vehicles\""}]

Cory Overton, a Baggs resident, said he was headed home from his work in the Craig area when a Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based SWAT team passed him on the highway, also headed toward Baggs.

[{"type":"text","text":"He also saw a medical helicopter leaving the town, Overton said."}]

“I passed 17 emergency vehicles before I hit Craig,” he added. Overton said he and his son jumped into the car and headed north, then he took photographs of the aftermath of the incident.

One of the photographs Overton took shows a Carbon County Sheriff’s deputy vehicle with the window seemingly open.

It appeared to be shot by bullets, Overton said, adding that the deputy is a “local guy” known to the community.

Overton said he doesn’t know the shooter. Many people who work in Craig live in Baggs due to cheaper housing costs, he added.

Overton said he’s not sure if the apartment fire is related to the shooting incident. But when law enforcement personnel refer to “the apartment complex,” he said, only one comes to mind.

“That’s really the only apartments we have,” said Overton. That is, except for an old motel used for rent just north of town, he added.

Baggs standoff 6 8 26

<title>Deadly Shooting In Baggs, Wyoming: Deputy Injured, Shooter Dead | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An active shooter manhunt unfolded Monday in Baggs where one deputy was injured and the shooter died on scene, Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken confirmed late Monday. The sheriff said the suspect opened fire on law enforcement before driving off a highway.

Daily Smile: Wednesday, November 12, 2025

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