A 41-year-old Cody woman who was arrested Wednesday after a four-hour standoff with local police was allegedly taking a haul of collectible coins and firearms from the house of her late grandparents.
Dawn Blaylock had her first appearance in Cody Circuit Court on Friday, and charged with felony aggravated burglary, criminal trespass, interference with a peace officer, reckless endangerment and property damage.
The standoff was the culmination of a monthslong family dispute over a trust created to handle the estate of a family member, says an affidavit of probable cause written by Cody Police Detective Tyler Eubanks.
Another family member has control of the trust, but Blaylock claimed she was the legal owner of the coins and firearms, and that they were stolen from her. So, she was taking them back when confronted in the home by the Cody Police Department.
“Dawn claimed that the guns, coins and other valuable pieces within the home were stolen from her,” Eubanks wrote.
She also admitted using a rock to break a window to get into the house on Wednesday, the affidavit says.
On Thursday, Blaylock’s vehicle was searched, which was still at the home of the late family members, where police found a cache of weapons and other valuable items. Those include:
• A Winchester Model 101 over/under shotgun with three barrel assemblies.
• The frame of a 1911 handgun.
• More than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
“Officers found hundreds of dollars in coins also,” the affidavit says, adding there also were “more than 100 coins in protective plastic and paper cases which appeared as if they were valuable.”
Some of the items found in her vehicle “were identical” to things the family member in charge of the trust had documented as having been taken more than a week prior.
‘I Don’t Want To Answer That Right Now’
Along with aggravated burglary, which is an elevated charge because she used a weapon during the standoff, Blaylock also was found in possession of suspected illegal drugs, the affidavit says.
“I asked Dawn what she was doing before she went to the house,” Eubanks wrote. “Dawn stated she was drinking and smoking a bowl, which I knew is a slang phrase for smoking marijuana.”
When asked if she smoked any drugs other than marijuana, Blaylock hesitated.
“Yeah, I don’t want to answer that right now,” she said, according to the affidavit. “I don’t want to stay in this jail any longer than I have to. I’d like to talk to a lawyer before I talk to anyone.
“I want to help you; can I say that first and foremost. I want to tell you everything that I know … but I don’t want to screw me so much that I can’t ever get out of here to see my kids again. Does that make sense?”
Blaylock landed on the CPD’s radar about three weeks earlier when the family member reported that trust assets were being illegally disposed of by Blaylock, the affidavit says.
He reported that she had allegedly been selling and pawning coins and firearms that were owned by her late grandfather, but that he was the only person legally able to dispose of the property under the trust.
“Over the course of the next couple weeks, (the man) had begun tracking down the property which Dawn had given away or sold,” the affidavit says. “These items are assets of the trust and were stored in the residence.”
Standoff
It was 1:20 p.m. Wednesday when the CPD alerted area residents of an active law-enforcement situation in the 700 block of Meadow Lane Avenue near the Olive Glenn Golf Course, police report.
Several streets in the area were blocked by vehicles from multiple responding law enforcement agencies, including the CPD’s ballistic armored tactical transport vehicle, or “bearcat.”
When officers arrived at the house, they observed a broken window and a large rock about 3 feet away, the affidavit says.
When they entered the house, Blaylock was located in the master bathroom.
“Dawn expressed she was armed and refused to come out,” Eubanks wrote. “Law enforcement used a remote camera to look under the door and verified Dawn did have a firearm.”
She was advised “multiple times” she was under arrest, and was ultimately taken into custody after about four hours of negotiations.
After that is when the family member in charge of the trust was able to get into the house and verify missing items, including collectible coins, a statue of a puma, and about 20 firearms.
If convicted of the most serious charge, the felony aggravated burglary, Blaylock could get between five and 25 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.
At her initial court appearance Friday, a preliminary hearing on her charges was set for July 6.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
