Anticipating resistance, a fully armed SWAT team with an armored vehicle was deployed to serve a search warrant at a suspected Cheyenne drug house Thursday to conclude a monthslong investigation into drug distribution.
Two hours later, nine people had been rousted from the house, felony-level amounts of meth and fentanyl were discovered, and two local suspects were in custody.
“The operation was pre-planned and extra precautions were taken to ensure the safety of everyone in the area,” the Cheyenne Police Department said in a report on the incident.
It was the culmination of an investigation that began in November when “it was determined that fentanyl pills and methamphetamine were being distributed from the home,” the CPD reports.
Those “extra precautions” included the joint CPD/Laramie County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team and dozens of other officers who were positioned outside and around the house in the 2400 block of East 11 Street.
Terell Royal, 39, and Travis Fauque, 33, were both arrested Thursday, but not before Fauque refused to come out of the house and staged a short standoff with law enforcement.
When the SWAT team arrived at about 10 a.m. and made multiple announcements for people to come out of the house, nine people, including Royal, did so, the CPD reports.
“Fauque refused and hid inside the attic,” the report says. “In an attempt to safely remove Fauque from the home, officers deployed a variety of nonlethal tools, including CS (tear) gas.”
At 12:06 p.m., Fauque finally exited the attic and surrendered.
“During a search of the house, officers discovered a felony-level amount of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine,” the report says.
The statement doesn’t elaborate on the other seven people who were in the house or if there are any potential charges for them.
Royal was arrested on suspicion of the sale and delivery of meth, possession of meth, and possession of fentanyl.
Fauque was arrested for interference, felony possession of meth, felony possession of fentanyl, and felony theft.
Cheyenne police used a fully armed SWAT team with an armored vehicle to breach a suspected drug house Thursday. One of two suspects arrested holed up in the home’s attic for two hours before finally giving up. (Cheyenne Police Department) 
Cheyenne police used a fully armed SWAT team with an armored vehicle to breach a suspected drug house Thursday. One of two suspects arrested holed up in the home’s attic for two hours before finally giving up. (Cheyenne Police Department)
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
