RIVERTON — A 33-year-old Lander man faces up to 42 years in prison and fines in connection with the Wednesday evening Riverton crash in which two people died.
Micheal Odom was already on probation for DUI, police interference, and reckless driving convictions out of Campbell County when the truck he was driving sped through Riverton’s busiest 30 mph thoroughfare at more than 75 mph, Fremont County deputy attorney James Weck told the Lander Circuit Court on Friday.
Odom, who is in custody, appeared in court for his initial hearing that afternoon.
Weck noted that besides the Campbell County convictions, Odom is also on parole for a slew of 2020 theft, burglary, and property destruction felonies out of Natrona County.
Friday’s filing marks his third DUI charge in five years, and Odom tried to flee the scene of the crash, Weck added.
The prosecutor asked Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs to set Odom’s bond at $5 million cash-only.
Coombs warned Odom that he doesn’t have to incriminate himself, but asked if he wanted to speak about his life in response to Weck’s bond argument.
Odom took that opening to apologize instead.
“I’m terribly sorry about what happened,” he said. “I’ve just been fighting addiction my whole life. I do not really know what happened or remember anything. I just apologize to the victims’ family and everything.”
Coombs set Odom’s bond at $1 million, cash-only.
The Scene
Cowboy State Daily arrived on scene Wednesday to find a white Dodge pickup with front-end damage on its side in the middle of Riverton’s busiest thoroughfare, Federal Boulevard, in front of Walmart.
About a half-block away sat the mangled remains of what eyewitnesses said had been a Jeep.
An evidentiary affidavit by Riverton Police Department Officer Jesse Francher, filed by the Fremont County Attorney’s Office, says a 23- or 24-year-old woman lay on the ground at least 20 feet away from the Jeep.
A man that same age, the Jeep’s passenger, remained inside the vehicle, the document says.
Neither the woman nor man from the Jeep showed signs of life, Francher wrote.
Officers arrived on scene and pulled Odom, who was bleeding, from the pickup.
“While waiting with Odom he was worried that he was going to jail,” wrote Francher. "Odom was very agitated as if he did something wrong.
"I suspected Odom was intoxicated but was unsure if it was caused by the accident or him being under the influence.”
The affidavit says that after a short time on scene, Odom fled and ran to a nearby parking lot “where he ran into a truck.”
It’s unclear if this means Odom ducked into the cab of the truck or collided with the truck.
Officers apprehended and handcuffed him and put him in Francher’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.
The Hospital
Francher took Odom to SageWest Health Care, where a nurse drew Odom’s blood at 9:13 p.m. — about one hour after the crash.
“I did not apply for a blood warrant first due to the exigent circumstances of a fatal accident and the suspect being injured,” wrote Francher in the affidavit. “I did not read Odom implied consent before the blood draw due to forgetting because of the circumstances at hand.”
Francher later applied for a blood search warrant, the document says.
“While waiting with Odom, he stated that he was drunk,” wrote Francher.
At that point Odom was given his Miranda rights.
The document does not distinguish who interviewed Odom, but says he was asked if he’d been drinking and when.
Odom said he consumed two 4-Loco drinks at 7 p.m., the affidavit says. He “was read” implied consent at 10:55 p.m. and did not consent, says the affidavit.
Medical personnel found he had a fractured wrist and fractured orbital floor.
He was cleared and taken to the police department, where he submitted to a breath test and logged a 0.134% breath-alcohol concentration, the document says.
What Happened?
Meanwhile, another officer interviewed bystanders on scene.
The witnesses reportedly said the Jeep was on Webbwood Road, which intersects North Federal Boulevard and runs along Walmart’s southern lot — and that the Jeep entered the intersection heading west when Odom sped through the red light and struck the Jeep.
The woman, Taylee Dresser, was declared deceased on scene. The man, Gregory Trosper, was taken to the hospital after medical responders perceived a “flicker” of his eyes.
He was declared deceased at SageWest Health Care that night at 11:53 due to internal bleeding, says the affidavit.
The Tally
Coombs read Odom's charges Friday in court.
Those include two alternative counts pertaining to Trosper's death: one accusing Odom of aggravated homicide by vehicle due to being drunk, and the other accusing him of the same but due to driving recklessly.
Each is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and since they're in the alternative, a jury in this case would have to choose one or the other if it chose to convict Odom.
The state alleges the same set of alternate charges pertaining to Dresser's death, which makes for another potential 20 years in prison.
And the state also charged an enhanced DUI misdemeanor that ranges from 30 days to six months in jail and $3,000 in fines; one count of interfering with police ( up to one year and $1,000 in fines); and one count of reckless driving (up to six months in jail and $750 in fines).
Odom's preliminary hearing, where he'd have a chance to argue whether the state has probable cause to keep prosecuting him, is set for June 29 in Lander Circuit Court.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
