The Lander Police Department has multiple suspects in a Friday-night bar fight that turned fatal, and he expects arrests in “the next couple days,” the police chief told Cowboy State Daily on Monday.
There were no weapons involved, and one male died, LPD Chief Kelly Waugh said in a Monday phone interview.
The department’s original statement, released Saturday, says officers responded about 11:15 p.m. Friday to a local establishment and learned that a fight had happened there.
Someone called for emergency medical services, and one person — whom Waugh confirmed Monday was a male — "had" succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased, says an agency statement released Saturday.
The establishment was the Maverick Bar, Waugh added Monday.
“We are currently working hand-in-hand with (the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation) and the Fremont County prosecutor’s office,” he said Monday.
He added that DCI agents are involved because they can increase the speed and efficiency of an investigation while providing a good teaching example to LPD’s two-man investigation team in the process.
Waugh confirmed that he expects to see criminal charges against more than one person, but no one has been charged yet, as questions remain about which charges are appropriate.
“I’ll be honest with you, the delay right now is determining that the proper charge is issued,” said Waugh.
Fremont County Attorney Micah Wyatt, who is the county’s top prosecutor, declined Monday to comment.
Alcohol was apparently a factor in the fatal fight with no weapons involved, and the chief said he doesn’t know of any other substances involved.
He declined to give an exact number of suspects, reiterating there were "multiple," and declined to say what events are believed to have preceded the fight.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
