The 18-year-old facing an attempted murder charge on suspicion of stabbing a clerk at a Lander convenience store says he’s “remorsefully sorry for hurting the Loaf N’ Jug clerk” and wants to apologize to the victim “face to face.”
In an anguished, hand-written letter to Fremont County Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs, Lorenzo Hopper profusely apologizes to the judge, the Loaf N’ Jug clerk and the businesses he’s accused of breaking into in the hours prior to the April 21 stabbing.
“And on behalf of my disrespectful Auntie I apologize for her ignorance in (how) court went today,” Hopper says in the letter he wrote hours after his April 30 preliminary hearing and made available this week in his public court file.
‘Sorry’s Aren’t Going To Tix things’
In the letter, Hopper writes that, “I am aware that sorry’s arent (sic) going to fix things, but I want you to know how remorseful I am, especially for hurting the Loaf N’Jug clerk.
“I understand if I am not able to but for the sake of her and the business’s, I wish to speak my sorrows for them, for I am not comfortable with leaving them hurt and showing no remorse for it.”
Hopper asked the judge to apologize on his behalf, adding that he “is not a violent person” or a thief, but acknowledged that his actions show otherwise.
The apology comes two weeks after police say Hopper stabbed the clerk three times in the back with a stolen knife.
“I hope to show different in the future,” he wrote. "For I am done drinking and done soaking in my own sorrows.”
The 18-year-old asked for forgiveness and wrote, “I hope your able to see the good within me and Im not this crimminal Ive made myself out to be.”
Hopper also said that the rash of burglaries and stabbing he’s accused of are out of character for him.
“I am not a violent person nor am I a thief, though my actions show otherwise,” he wrote. “All I as for is forgiveness, for I understand my actions and consequences."
He remains in the Fremont County Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond. An arraignment hearing for him to plead to the charges against him hasn’t been set yet.
The Stabbing
The trouble for Hopper began around 3:43 a.m. April 21 when police say he jumped the counter at a Lander Loaf N’ Jug and stole a bottle of alcohol during a crime spree that investigators say only escalated from there.
Police say Hopper disappeared briefly before returning to the store less than an hour later. According to court documents, the clerk recognized him immediately and called 911 as Hopper walked away from the business.
The clerk later told investigators she followed Hopper outside while still on the phone with dispatch.
She said Hopper turned around, denied stealing anything, then shoved her and pulled out what she described as a hunting-style knife with an estimated 6-inch blade.
The clerk said Hopper began “stabbing at her,” forcing her to try defending herself by grabbing the knife with one hand while holding her phone in the other, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Hopper’s case.
Police later observed what they described as severe puncture wounds and defensive injuries before the woman was life-flighted for treatment.
The Getaway Driver
Officers then spotted a red Jeep leaving the area, stopped it a block away, and arrested Hopper, who was a passenger in the car.
There were two females in the car with Hopper, one of which has also been arrested as a co-defendant. The other was passed out in the backseat.
Amanda Phillips, 21, was driving the Jeep. She is accused of breaking into buildings, stealing alcohol, cigarettes and cash, and moving from business to business during the early morning hours before police say the crime spree turned violent.
If convicted on all counts, Phillips could face up to about 14 years in prison.
In Wyoming, accessory before the fact to burglary carries the same potential penalties as burglary itself — up to 10 years in prison. Accessory after the fact to aggravated assault and battery is punishable by up to three years, and misdemeanor eluding can carry up to 1 year in jail.
At her initial court appearance Fremont County Attorney Micah Wyatt told the court Phillips helped drive and conceal the crime spree, but she is not accused of participating in the stabbing. Her case was bound over to District Court on April 30.
Hopper is facing far steeper consequences. Attempted second-degree murder alone in Wyoming carries a potential sentence of 20 years to life.
Hopper is represented by Casper attorney Clay Simpson. A request for comment from Hopper’s attorney was not returned before publication.
Hopper’s next appearance will be an arraignment in Fremont County District Court, where he is expected to enter a plea to the charges, though a hearing date had not been set as of Wednesday.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
