A predawn burglary spree through Lander in April left businesses ransacked, windows smashed and a convenience store clerk with three stab wounds in her back. Now, one of the two people accused in the rampage has agreed to plead guilty to a felony.
Amanda Phillips, 21, signed a plea agreement filed Aug. 12 in Fremont County District Court, resolving her part of a case that began with stolen booze and cigarettes.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
In exchange, Fremont County Attorney Micah Wyatt has agreed to dismiss Phillips' two remaining charges — accessory after the fact to aggravated assault and battery and fleeing.
No agreement was reached, however, about what her punishment should be.
The agreement specifically describes it as a "cold" plea, meaning both prosecutors and Phillips' defense attorney, public defender Zachary H. Mahlum, remain free to argue for whatever sentence they deem appropriate.
Phillips also agrees to pay restitution on all of the original charges, including those prosecutors have agreed to dismiss.
Ultimately, the sentence will be up to the judge.
Phillips' co-defendant, 18-year-old Lorenzo Hopper, remains charged with attempted first-degree murder and five other crimes. He is scheduled for a jury trial Nov. 16.
Smashed Windows
The incidents began around 3:40 a.m. April 21, when police say Hopper jumped the counter at the Loaf N' Jug on Main Street, grabbed a bottle of alcohol and took off.
The clerk called police and gave officers a description of Hopper, but a search of the area came up empty.
Over the next hour, several Lander businesses were broken into and vandalized, with alcohol, cigarettes, cash and other property reported stolen.
Phillips allegedly drove Hopper to several locations that morning. She later told investigators she was looking at her phone and didn't see what he was doing.
Among the businesses hit was the County 10 radio station, where investigators say an oxygen bottle was used to smash the front-door window. Surveillance video showed Hopper entering the building, where a commemorative Gerber hunting knife was among the items reported stolen.
Police would later find computer screens, oxygen bottles, an oxygen mask and plumbing equipment inside the vehicle Phillips was driving, according an affidavit of probable cause.
Then, around 4:37 a.m. — nearly an hour after the first call — police were sent back to the Loaf N' Jug.
Hopper had returned.
Three Stab Wounds
The affidavit says Hopper went inside the store and confronted clerk Dayle Mefford, who called 911.
Investigators allege he attacked Mefford with a stolen knife, stabbing her three times in the back.
Mefford was seriously wounded and was LifeFlighted for treatment.
Her daughter, Aiko Miller, later told Cowboy State Daily that strangers who happened upon the violence rushed in to help her mother.
One person used a vehicle to frighten off the attacker as the assault escalated, Miller said. Others tended to Mefford's wounds until emergency medical crews arrived.
Miller said her mother believed their intervention saved her life.
"We are beyond grateful to the good Samaritan that stepped in and scared that man off and administered wound care," Miller said. "It saved my mom's life."
Mefford has since been recovering from her injuries.
Plea Deal
Although Phillips and Hopper were arrested together April 21, the criminal cases against them took different shapes.
An initial Lander Police Department announcement said both were facing attempted-murder charges while investigators were still sorting through what happened.
Once formal charges were filed, however, prosecutors did not charge Phillips with attempted murder.
Instead, she was charged with accessory before the fact to burglary, accessory after the fact to aggravated assault and battery, and fleeing or attempting to elude police.
Hopper faces six charges: Attempted first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and battery, interference with a peace officer and theft.
Both pleaded not guilty during separate arraignments May 21 in Fremont County District Court.
Phillips is now moving toward resolving her case without a trial.
Under the Wednesday agreement, she will plead guilty only to accessory before the fact to burglary. Prosecutors will ask the court to dismiss the other two charges once her guilty plea is entered and accepted.
Because the agreement contains no sentencing recommendation, Phillips could still face a sentence within the range allowed by Wyoming law.
Her existing bond will remain in effect while she awaits sentencing.
Hopper Headed To Trial
Hopper's trial in November will be in Fremont County District Court.
The attempted first-degree murder charge is by far the most serious allegation against him and could expose him to decades in prison.
Shortly after his preliminary hearing this spring, Hopper wrote a handwritten letter to the judge in which he expressed remorse and said he hoped someday to apologize to Mefford "face to face."
He wrote that he was finished drinking and wanted people to see something in him beyond the crimes he is accused of committing.
Phillips' plea agreement also still must make its way through the court. Filing the agreement does not itself constitute a guilty plea. Phillips must formally enter that plea and the judge must accept it before the agreement takes effect.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
