A state representative who pleaded guilty Wednesday to a DUI charge and was fined and sentenced to probation issued a public apology Friday.
Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, was arrested Dec. 28 in Buffalo on suspicion of driving drunk from at least an interstate outlet intersection to the Miller's Travel Center gas station.
More than seven months of a highly publicized, hotly contested case followed. He pleaded guilty Wednesday in Buffalo Circuit Court and was sentenced to pay a $500 fine and spend a year on unsupervised probation.
If he fails probation, 88 days of jail time could follow.
“I would like everyone to know that I do owe you an apology for my offenses,” began Allemand in a public video posted Friday to Facebook. “I would like you to know also that throughout the duration of these proceedings and under the advisement of my legal representation, I was told to offer no apologies, that could affect the case that I was contesting.”
Allemand continued: “I do apologize for drinking while driving on a public road. I do acknowledge my actions could have been much worse, with much consequences.”
He said he’s never denied “that it was illegal and was honest up front.”
Just after the legislative session ended in March, he said, he entered a counseling program without anyone ordering or pressuring him to do so. He completed that program and continues counseling, and hasn’t consumed alcohol since his arrest, said Allemand.
Allemand said he fought the charge because “I do not believe that the amount of beer consumed (had me) nearly as intoxicated as reported.”
Case prosecutor and Johnson County Deputy Attorney Josh Stensaas reported Allemand at a 0.24% blood-alcohol concentration. Allemand’s attorney, Mike Vang contested that finding during that case, and the BAC dispute wasn’t resolved by the time the case settled.
“As the case developed, I felt I was not being given a fair opportunity to use the legal system to defend myself,” said Allemand. “There are many details that you weren’t all privileged to know and only chosen information was published by the media.”
Contacted by phone Friday, Allemand clarified to Cowboy State Daily that he was referencing details the media didn’t know.
These may surface later, he added.
He declined to comment beyond that and beyond the statements in his apology video.
“I ultimately made the decision to plead guilty because I was wrong for drinking and driving,” he said in the video. “It also seemed to be a major consensus that I couldn’t ignore.”
He said he hopes his decision doesn’t impact others’ ability to exercise their rights under the system. He also said he’s served the people with fidelity and will continue to do so.
Allemand faces a Republican opponent, Bar Nunn Mayor Peter Boyer, at the Aug. 18 primary election.
Grateful He Apologized
Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, had called for Allemand to apologize about one hour before Allemand’s apology video published.
“The silence is deafening from not only Rep. Allemand on his guilty plea but also from the Wyoming Freedom Caucus,” said Brown in a Friday Facebook post to his political page. “Accountability for his actions should be demanded by every single member of our body.”
Allemand is a member of the populist-leaning Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which is a controversial group of House Republicans that Brown often opposes.
Its proponents cast it as the true voice of Wyoming conservatives. Its foes accuse it of groupthink and sloppy legislating.
Brown told Cowboy State Daily in a Friday interview after Allemand’s apology that he’s “incredibly grateful that he did apologize.”
That shows accountability, said Brown.
“I am a little disturbed that he still continues to push back against the judicial system, and it seems to be that is a growing concern from the Freedom Caucus in general; that they have little to no faith in the judicial system,” he said. “And it undermines our ability as a nation to believe in one of our three branches of government.”
The Freedom Caucus has not called outright for the election of judges. Its members have criticized multiple judicial rulings in recent months, including a Jan. 6 ruling by the Wyoming Supreme Court, proclaiming abortion access a fundamental health care right throughout Wyoming.
Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Rachel Williams, R-Cody, who is also campaigning for secretary of state, did not immediately respond to a Friday text message request for a response to Brown’s statements.
Brown said now that Allemand has taken accountability, he hopes people show him grace.
“Because none of us are infallible, and I believe we all deserve grace when we take accountability,” said Brown.
Brown had, in his Facebook post, referenced having been in the public eye, made mistakes, and taken accountability himself.
Brown had given a favorable testimony in at the 2024 sentencing hearing of a former law enforcement officer who was convicted of sexual assault. He had described the former Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper, Gabriel Testerman, as a good candidate for probation.
After the sentencing hearing, Brown quickly apologized, and said he supports the judicial process and the outcome in this case.
The prosecutor in Testerman’s case, Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe, had told the court at sentencing that, “There are two Gabe Testermans” – meaning one society at large and another of dark behaviors.
More About Allemand’s Case
Allemand spent about two days in jail after his Dec. 28 arrest.
Through his attorney, Allemand asserted that the arresting deputy, Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Caleb Campbell, didn’t have enough evidence of wrongdoing to make the initial stop.
Campbell contacted Allemand at the gas station parking lot, citing a claim that Allemand had made a stop at a stop sign, but then lurched forward improperly and almost hit another vehicle.
Allemand also contested Campbell’s decision to ask him incriminating questions while Campbell had him handcuffed – reportedly for officer safety reasons due to the sighting of Allemand’s gun – during the stop.
Buffalo Circuit Court Magistrate Jeremy Kisling ruled that Campbell had enough evidence to make the stop, but should not have asked potentially incriminating questions during Allemand’s 12-minute confinement in handcuffs on scene. So the Johnson County Attorney’s Office couldn’t bring the 12 minutes of body camera video to the trial – which is now cancelled – as part of its main case.
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office released the body camera video to the media, however, which Allemand’s attorney called inappropriate. That's another dispute left unsettled by the case's conclusion.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
