It was the hard kick to the groin of a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper that could get a 47-year-old Laramie man up to 10 years in prison after a high-speed chase through two counties in a pickup towing a camper.
The alleged assault on Trooper Brandon Todd came after Nicholas J. Blocker ditched his truck and camper in Curt Gowdy State Park following Todd flattening the truck's tires with Stop Sticks just after 11 p.m. July 2.
Blocker ditched the disabled Chevy truck and camper and tried to hide in the underbrush of the park at night, Todd recounts in an affidavit of probable cause he filed in Laramie County Circuit Court on Tuesday ahead of a Friday court hearing for Blocker.
Todd flushed Blocker out, tackled him and, with the help of another trooper, handcuffed the uncooperative man’s hands behind his back, the affidavit says.
That’s when the Blocker’s trouble exploded from a laundry list of misdemeanor charges into suspected felony assault on a peace officer.
“While standing near blocker after he was on his feet, Blocker then proceeded to square up to me, and using his right leg and foot, kick me as hard as he could in the groin,” Trooper Todd wrote in his affidavit.
That caused him to experience “severe and intense pain in my groin area that was causing me to be nauseous and making it hard to walk on my own power,” he wrote.
Todd continued to assist in apprehending Blocker, but then was transported to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released in the early morning hours of July 3, according to the affidavit.
The Chase
Blocker is scheduled for a Friday appearance in Albany County Circuit Court to face at least three criminal charges and 12 other traffic citations related to the chase and arrest.
That chase began in Albany County, and Todd wrote that he picked it up at about 10:51 p.m. when dispatchers alerted other agencies about the truck and camper trying to elude law enforcement driving eastbound on I-80.
“While monitoring the radio, I heard that the suspect vehicle had taken exit 335 (Buford Road) and had begun traveling eastbound on Buford Road,” the affidavit says.
Blocker continued driving east until he crossed into Laramie County, while Todd set up Stop Sticks at the juncture of Buford and Crystal Lake roads.
At about 11:08 p.m., Blocker’s truck ran over the disabling device, but he continued driving anyway, the affidavit says.
“The pursuit continued eastbound on Crystal Lake Road, where the suspect vehicle then made a left-hand turn and continued westbound on Wyoming 210 (Happy Jack Road),” Todd’s affidavit continues.
Blocker then turned into Curt Gowdy State Park, where he ditched the truck and camper and took off on foot “through a drainage and into the thick timberline,” the affidavit says.
Caught
Trooper Todd followed the man through the timberline and “found Blocker hiding in thick vegetation, attempting to hide from law enforcement,” the affidavit says.
Blocker continued to resist law enforcement, ignoring commands to come out of his hiding spot, then trying to run on foot again, Todd wrote.
“I intercepted Blocker at the edge of the thick vegetation and the edge of the beach,” the affidavit says. “When I made contact with Blocker, he had his right hand behind his back as if attempting to reach for a concealed weapon.”
He didn’t have a weapon, and instead “made a quick and sudden movement with his right hand and arm, and pointed his fist at me,” Todd wrote.
That’s when Todd and another trooper took Blocker to the ground, handcuffed him, and stood him up — then Blocker kicked Todd in the groin.
The man failed to get away, however, and was instead put into a wrap restraint and handed over to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, the affidavit says.
The Charges
Court documents don’t detail what started the chase with law enforcement in Albany County.
However, in addition to a long list of alleged crimes and violations related to the chase, he also faces a domestic battery charge from earlier that evening.
His tally from the chase includes one felony:
• Interference with a peace officer causing injury, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.
And multiple misdemeanor charges:
• Driving while under the influence.
• Interference with a peace officer — resisting.
• Two counts of reckless driving.
• Speeding six-plus mph over the 75 mph speed limit on I-80.
• Failure to travel in a single lane.
• Two stop sign violations.
• Failure to comply with a red traffic signal.
• Following too closely.
• Fleeing or attempting to elude.
• Not signaling before making a turn.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
