The Sheridan man shot by three police officers in April after allegedly opening fire on them from an upstairs window has now been arrested and accused of trying to murder the officers who ultimately shot him.
Cody Miech, born in 1997, was arrested Friday, nearly four months after a violent early-morning confrontation on Park Drive. Miech made his initial appearance Monday afternoon before Circuit Court Judge Sheryl Bunting.
He faces three counts of attempted second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault and battery.
A newly filed probable cause affidavit from Zack Miller, a Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation special agent, gives the fullest account yet of what allegedly happened in the early morning hours of April 26.
It describes a terrified woman fleeing the house and pounding on neighbors' doors, police taking cover as shotgun blasts tore through upstairs windows and, finally, a shirtless Miech emerging into his driveway carrying a double-barreled shotgun and raising it toward officers.
Three Sheridan police officers opened fire.
Miech fell in the driveway near a Toyota 4Runner, and the shotgun landed beneath the vehicle, the affidavit says.
‘He Has A Gun’
The confrontation began with a woman running through the neighborhood looking for help.
Sheridan police Cpl. Chase Phillip and Officer Hunter Pope responded to Park Drive for what was initially reported as a “suspicious circumstance,” the affidavit says.
The woman was banging on neighborhood doors and crying that her husband was manic, had a gun and was threatening to kill her and her children, investigators allege.
Neighbor Elaine Kristiansen told Cowboy State Daily the next day that she had been sleeping when a frantic ringing at her door woke her.
By the time Kristiansen got outside, the woman had moved to another neighbor's house.
Kristiansen could hear her sobbing.
When police arrived, Kristiansen recalled the woman running toward them.
“He has a gun. You have to go in, he has a gun,” she recalled her saying.
Police secured the woman in the rear partition of a patrol vehicle and repositioned their vehicles toward the house, the affidavit says.
Because of the reported firearm threat, Phillip retrieved his patrol rifle while Pope prepared a less-lethal shotgun.
Then police tried to get Miech to come outside.
‘Nope’
Miech eventually appeared at the front door, shirtless and with his hands raised, the affidavit says.
“Hey Cody, can we just talk for a minute bud?” Phillip asked, as quoted in the affidavit.
Miech refused.
“Nope, I know what that means,” he replied before retreating into the house.
Soon afterward, Pope noticed a light turn on in an upstairs bedroom facing the street.
Multiple shotgun blasts came through the upstairs windows toward the officers' positions, spraying broken glass and debris, the affidavit says.
Officer Jack Stanley arrived as backup while the confrontation continued.
Phillip radioed that shots were actively being fired in their direction.
Pope later told DCI investigators that while taking cover behind a patrol vehicle, he felt what he believed was a projectile strike near his right leg.
The officers were positioned around marked Sheridan Police Department vehicles with emergency and “takedown” lights illuminating the scene.
They also were dealing with the possibility that children remained inside the house as the gunfire continued, the affidavit says.
Into The Driveway
As the officers remained behind their vehicles for cover, Stanley saw the front door open, the affidavit says.
Miech emerged shirtless, carrying what investigators describe as a dark-stocked, side-by-side, break-action double-barreled shotgun.
Body-worn camera and doorbell-camera footage captured Miech walking past a silver Toyota 4Runner and toward the driveway's edge, the affidavit says.
Investigators allege he then raised the shotgun toward the positions of the uniformed officers and their marked vehicles.
The three officers fired.
Phillip discharged 12 rounds from his rifle, Pope fired two rounds from his handgun and Stanley fired one rifle round, the affidavit says.
Fifteen rounds in all.
Miech was hit and collapsed in the driveway near the front of the 4Runner. His shotgun fell beneath the vehicle.
The affidavit says Miech screamed “Just let me die!” after he was shot.
Emergency medical crews staged nearby were brought forward to treat him before he was taken to the hospital.
Sheridan police announced the officer-involved shooting later that morning, saying the armed man had been hospitalized and none of its officers were injured.
The officers were placed on administrative leave, and the investigation was turned over to DCI.
Inside The House
After the gunfire stopped, investigators began processing the house and driveway.
They documented a discharged black shotgun shell, and Miech's double-barreled shotgun found near the front passenger tire of the 4Runner.
A nearby silver Toyota RAV4 had projectile damage to its hood, windshield and driver's-side panels.
Investigators also noted numerous projectile entry holes and strike marks on the front of the house, including near the front-door support pillar and around the garage roof.
The affidavit says the pattern was consistent with shotgun fire in the direction of where officers and Miech's wife had been positioned.
Both upstairs windows facing the street were shattered.
Inside an upstairs bedroom, investigators found broken window panes and damaged blinds. From there, investigators reported an unobstructed line of sight through the trees toward the officers' patrol vehicles on the street.
Spent shotgun shells were scattered around the bed, floor and open closet, the affidavit says.
A flat-screen television was smashed, and soil from an overturned houseplant was scattered inside the room.
Investigators also found additional firearms and ammunition throughout the house, including more shotguns and a rifle, the affidavit says.
A blood sample collected from Miech at Sheridan Memorial Hospital was sent to the Wyoming State Crime Lab. Testing showed alcohol in his system.
‘Trying To Kill’
DCI investigators later interviewed Phillip, Pope and Stanley.
All three were on duty in identifiable Sheridan Police Department uniforms and operating marked patrol vehicles during the confrontation, the affidavit says.
Stanley told investigators he believed Miech was “trying to kill him and other officers.”
Investigators ultimately reviewed physical evidence, witness accounts and electronic recordings of the confrontation.
Based on that evidence, Miller concluded there was probable cause to accuse Miech of three counts of attempted second-degree murder.
The affidavit alleges Miech “purposely and maliciously, but without premeditation,” took a substantial step toward killing the officers by firing a deadly weapon from an elevated window and later advancing with a raised shotgun toward law enforcement personnel and an occupied patrol vehicle.
He is also accused of aggravated assault and battery for allegedly threatening officers with a drawn deadly weapon while having the apparent ability to carry out the threat.
Each attempted second-degree murder charge carries a potential sentence of life in prison. The aggravated assault and battery charge carries up to 10 years.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
