It’s time to take a look at what’s happening around Wyoming for Friday, March 6th. I’m Mac Watson.
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In a notorious case that made international headlines, Wyoming man Cody Roberts pleaded guilty Thursday to torturing a wolf and apologized publicly, telling the court he sincerely regrets his actions. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports from Pinedale.
“He signed a plea agreement last month. Thursday, he gave his guilty plea in court, which was accompanied by a recitation of evidence from the prosecutor, Clayton Melinkovich, and an apology from Roberts himself. And the judge said, ‘Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to accept this plea agreement. I want a pre-sentence investigation, which is a book report on your life, your history, an interview, more details about this crime, and then he will set sentencing,’ If the judge rejects the plea agreement. Roberts can revert back to a not guilty plea and go to trial if he wishes.”
If the judge accepts Roberts' plea agreement, he would spend 18 months on probation. Terms include bans hunting including shed hunting and fishing, plus a $1,000 fine. If he violates probation, Roberts could be sentenced to between 18 months and two years in prison and pay another $4,000 in fines.
Read the full story HERE.
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The Wyoming Highway Patrol is being audited after the agency blew past its annual overtime budget by more than $2.4 million last year. Cowboy State Daily’s David Madison reports that legislators have really heard from the public responding to a social media campaign offering anecdotal evidence of low staffing and low pay.
“Now the Wyoming Department of Transportation is auditing the Wyoming highway patrol, looking at what went on here. There's a real surge in overtime. They ran way over budget by 226% and some say, look, it's because we're just trying to fill the gaps. This audit and an internal investigation is going to help both sides of this argument. According to the sources I have spoken to, all agree that the staffing level itself, even at full capacity, could be insufficient, given Wyoming's huge size.”
Patrol Chief Col.Tim Cameron, who took control of the Highway Patrol in 2023, tells Cowboy State Daily the the roots of the problem can be traced to the COVID era, when the agency began using heavy overtime to fill staffing gaps, with spending above the baseline allocation going back to at least 2017.
Read the full story HERE.
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After the warmest winter in Wyoming's recorded history, the quality of snowpack ranges from “just okay” to "a new record low" to “nonexistent." Cowboy State Daily’s Andrew Rossi reports that the state climate office isn't panicking but…
“When it comes to talking about the quality of the snow pack in Wyoming, it ranges from Okay, which means that it's at or above the median snow water equivalent for this time of year, or it's absolutely horrible. And that's quoting the Wyoming State climate office. Now it's not a problem yet, because December, January and February are historically the driest months of the year, but this has been the warmest and driest winter in many Wyoming communities in recorded history. So it's possible that we could be facing some problems already that are going to persist as we move into the spring and summer.”
Snowpack is one of the American West's most important and unpredictable natural resources. The amount of snow retained in the mountains determines the quality of spring runoff, which has a significant impact on river flows, agricultural productivity, and wildfire risk during the summer heat.
Read the full story HERE.
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Nearly three years after an aggressive traffic stop of a local high school student, a Cody police officer can keep being a cop. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that the state board that oversees certifying law officers ruled on Wednesday Blake Stinson’s behavior didn’t rise to the level of losing his badge.
“The board ruled that while the behavior wasn't the best. It didn't rise to the level of stripping him of his badge. So the officer gets to stay, stay an officer, which he has been since it happened. The incident everybody knows, is because there was a video that was put out about it that shows his interaction with the 17-year-old, traffic stop right out in front of the High School where he argued with the teen. And the video was heavily edited.”
While the Wyoming Office of Administrative Hearings recommended pulling Stinson’s accreditation as a police officer, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board ultimately rejected that on Wednesday. Instead, the seven-member board decided he’ll be cited for a code of conduct violation and be ordered to have additional training.
Read the full story HERE.
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I’ll be back with more news from Cowboy State Daily right after this.
Cowboy State Daily news continues now…
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A 28-year-old Cheyenne exotic dancer is being sought on a warrant after sheriff's deputies say she assaulted another dancer at gunpoint over a dispute about a “regular.” Cowboy State Daily’s Dale Killingbeck reports Breanna Ellzey is also charged with stealing a pistol and assaulting her boyfriend with her vehicle.
“Apparently, a woman from that club, who is a quote, unquote dancer, had assaulted another woman over regular that was at the club, she had brought a pistol with her, and before she assaulted the other dancer, she took a pistol from that dancer's boyfriend, took it back with her, assaulted the dancer, then took off in her car. The affidavit states that she takes off, but her boyfriend tried to stop her, stood in front of her car, and then she tried to bump him with her car, and then pushed him out of the way with her car, after repeatedly pushing him with her car. She is still on the loose, according to the Laramie County Sheriff's Office.”
A warrant has been issued for Ellzey’s arrest on charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault and battery — threatening with a weapon, theft more than $1,000, and domestic battery.
Read the full story HERE.
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Though widely opposed by Wyoming law enforcement, the Second Amendment Protection Act cleared both chambers of the Legislature. Cowboy State Daily’s Mark Heinz reports that SF 101 must pass concurrence with both chambers before heading to Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk.
“It might, might not be a done deal at this point, because Gordon, they essentially tried the same bill last year, and Gordon vetoed it. But this is that one that basically the bill lays out that if for whatever reason, a federal entity or federal agency is coming into Wyoming with the express purpose of seizing firearms ammunition or firearms accessories, Wyoming law enforcement may not help them in that endeavor. No law enforcement officers that testified regarding it during the committee hearings were in favor of it.”
Having previously passed the Senate, Senate File 101, the Second Amendment Protection Act (SAPA), passed the House on third reading by a vote 40 to 21.
Read the full story HERE.
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The office manager for a Sheridan nonprofit foundation admitted stealing more than $630,000 since 2013, police say. Cowboy State Daily’s Greg Johnson reports that Bobbi Jo Neeson, blames a shopping addiction and taking the money was “an easy fix.”
“This is how it worked. She was in charge of managing and issuing loans and payments to these customers, these people who had these loans through the Foundation. And what she would do is, with an open account, she would add another loan to she would add, like, another $2,500 loan to their account, without the person's knowledge on the books, but when they actually deposited that money, instead of directing it to that person's account, she directed it to one of her personal accounts…until it added up to more than $630,000.”
The 56-year old was arrested Tuesday on 13 counts of felony theft for making 276 transfers totaling over $630,000 into multiple personal bank accounts from 2013 through the first part of 2025.
Read the full story HERE.
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By the stroke of Gov. Mark Gordon's pen Thursday, now all Wyoming police officers and deputies, not just federally-certified state troopers, can pull non-English-proficient commercial truck drivers from the roads. Cowboy State Daily’s Clair McFarland reports that this has been in the works a long time.
“So this has been brewing since last year. Governor Gordon, on Thursday, signed into law a bill giving any Wyoming cop the ability to pull a non English proficient trucker from the road. So this is a saga, right? The federal government had a long-standing rule saying, if you're going to drive a commercial truck, you've got to be able to converse with the general public, fill out log books, answer official inquiries and read signs in English. You got to be decent at that. And then-President Barack Obama suspended that rule in 2012 saying, ‘Stop pulling people from the roads for failing these tests.’ And so it basically mooted that whole rule.”
Gov. Mark Gordon on Thursday signed House Bill 32, which cements into state law an option for local law enforcement to cite non-English-proficient commercial truckers from the state’s roadways. Before Thursday, only Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers certified federally for this action could do so.
Read the full story HERE.
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And that’s today’s news. Get your free digital subscription to Wyoming's only statewide newspaper by hitting the Daily Newsletter button on Cowboy State Daily Dot Com - and you can watch this newscast every day by clicking Subscribe on our YouTube channel, or listen to us on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for watching - I’m Mac Watson, for Cowboy State Daily.
