CASPER - A 40-year-old Casper man who told a Natrona County judge that he “didn’t want to hurt anybody” when he nearly bit the tip of a deputy’s finger off last May was sentenced to 28-35 years in prison on Friday.
Andrew Beau Barrett entered a plea deal with the the Natrona County District Attorney’s office Jan. 21 that saw two charges against him dropped.
In return, the office agreed not to ask for more than 35 years on an aggravated assault and battery charge as well as Barrett being an habitual criminal.
He also was sentenced to four to five years for possession of a controlled substance, third or more offense. Both sentences are to be served concurrently.
Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Meyer told Judge Daniel Forgey on Friday that Barrett’s criminal history stretches back to 2002, and that any years since that he wasn't charged with something were the ones in which “he was incarcerated for a crime.”
Meyer told the court at the time Barrett was charged with the latest offense on May 13, 2025, as he was brought to jail following his arrest on possession of methamphetamine and a parole violation he was on parole for an offense where he bit a hospital security officer’s finger nearly off.
It was at the jail that Barrett bit the finger of a Natrona County Sheriff’s deputy as Barrett was being secured in a restraint chair, according to his arrest affidavit.
On the way to the jail he had been banging his head against the cage and told officers he was “crocodilian.”
During his initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court for this most recent incident, Barrett stuck his tongue out and barked at the judge.
Meyer introduced photos of the deputy’s injury to the court Friday.
“This is not just a bite of the fingertip, it is a disfigurement of the fingertip,” Meyer said.
He said Barrett’s biting incidents had not just included the deputy and hospital security guard in 2021, but there also was a case that involved him biting his own father and causing injuries.
Meyer said supervision of Barrett in past cases has not worked and that “when he is using methamphetamine” there are all sorts of problems.
'Danger' To Community
“He is a danger to the community,” Meyer said, asking the judge to impose a 30-35 year sentence for the habitual offender and aggravated assault and battery charge.
Defense attorney Jonathan Foreman told the court that Barrett’s previous run-ins with the law were mostly misdemeanors or felonies that were the result of three or more misdemeanor charges.
He said following a vehicle and motorcycle crash that resulted in Barrett losing his left leg a few years ago, he was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder and asked the judge to consider reviewing 100 pages of mental health material he filed with the court on Thursday.
On the day of his arrest, Foreman said his client was “making very strange statements,” but argued that the blood test obtained from Barrett at the time only showed a “therapeutic” level of meth.
He said his client likely had not taken his bipolar medication.
Foreman said Barrett at the time of his arrest “did have a relapse” and probation was trying to help him. He pointed out that Barrett has had a good record in jail and has posed no issues since his arrest 368 days ago.
He said Barrett does well when he is on his “medication regime,” and that locking Barrett up for an extended period serves no rehabilitative purpose.
Foreman noted Barrett had taken responsibility for his actions and asked the judge to consider a sentence range of 10-20 years.
“I do expect he would be a model inmate,” Foreman said.
'Not A Violent Person'
Barrett, who sat in a chair and was unshackled due to the crutches he uses to walk with just his right leg, told the judge that he is “not a violent person.”
“I know it doesn’t look good and the biting is repetitive,” he said. “I can’t stop doing meth, it slows the voices down sometimes.”
Barrett said he had been in an “uphill battle after losing his leg” and asked the judge for a “little bit of mercy.”
Forgey took time to review the mental health records before pronouncing Barrett’s sentence.
“I’ll accept the terms of the plea agreement,” he said.
In addition to the prison terms imposed on the two charges, the judge also recommended that Barrett participate in an intensive treatment unit program available in the Wyoming Department of Corrections.
Barrett’s appearances in district court for sentencing, his plea deal and arraignment were far different than his initial appearance on the charges in Casper Circuit Court.
During that appearance he barked, made growling sounds, stuck out his tongue, and then answered the judge’s questions as if nothing was amiss.
The Background
The case against Barrett followed a probation and parole check May 13, 2025, that involved a Wyoming Probation and Parole agent and Casper Police Department officer.
A court affidavit filed by the Casper officer states that when visiting Barrett, the officer noticed him “hop over to a table in his living room” and put a plastic bag in his pocket.
A search of the house uncovered a glass pipe with burn marks used for meth, and Barrett told the officer the plastic bag held marijuana.
He was arrested.
Barrett was on parole after serving prison time for an aggravated assault and battery charge that involved biting off the tip of an index finger of a Banner Wyoming Medical Center employee on Feb. 1, 2021.
On the way to jail May 13, 2025, the affidavit states that Barrett said he was “crocodilian” and began making “guttural growling noises.”
Once at the jail, a separate arrest affidavit filed by a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office investigator said Barrett fought with deputies after being taken out the patrol car.
Deputies rolled a restraint chair out to the garage and moved Barrett into the chair as Barrett resisted and fought, the affidavit states.
A deputy behind Barrett used a technique to control his head to keep him from biting or spitting at deputies.
Barrett was able to pull his head away and bite down on the deputy’s ring finger, "biting down with enough force to bite through the flesh and glove tearing away part of the finger from the first joint,” the affidavit states.
The deputy was taken to the hospital and received stitches to keep his finger intact.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
