The Weston County Sheriff’s Office says shots were fired at a deputy investigating a stolen gun Wednesday evening south of Upton, touching off an overnight manhunt through rugged country that ended with suspect Rodney Lee Anderson Jr.'s capture just before sunrise Thursday.
In a statement Thursday morning, the Weston County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy was investigating the theft of a firearm from a vehicle in Newcastle when the investigation led him south of Upton along Wyoming Highway 116.
The deputy found a suspect at about 6:45 p.m. and tried to contact him.
“The suspect fled on foot and shots were fired at the Deputy,” the statement said.
The deputy chased the man into a ravine, then broke off the pursuit when the terrain became too difficult.
Within minutes, radio traffic reported a gun, a man on foot and shots fired.
The confrontation brought a large multiagency response that continued through the night.
An emergency alert warned people around Upton to lock their doors and vehicles and stay away from Anderson, whom authorities described as armed and dangerous.
By 5:50 a.m. Thursday, the manhunt was over.
The sheriff’s office said the suspect was arrested without incident. At about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the sheriff’s office confirmed to Cowboy State Daily that Anderson was the person involved in the shots-fired incident and he had been taken into custody..
Sheriff Bryan Colvard did not return several requests from Cowboy State Daily seeking to confirm whether Anderson — the man named in the armed-and-dangerous alert — was the suspect who confronted the deputy.
The Weston County Detention Center did not return two phone messages Thursday morning seeking information about Anderson.
A court clerk said no charges had been filed against him as of Thursday morning.
Walking in a Pasture
Dispatch recordings from Wednesday evening capture the first minutes of the search.
The radio traffic described a “male brandishing a firearm at a law enforcement officer” and sent units toward milepost 7.5 on Highway 116 south of Upton.
"It looks like he is on foot,” a voice said in the recording.
“He was a pedestrian and was last seen walking in a pasture.”
At about 6:52 p.m., only minutes after the sheriff’s office said the deputy tried to contact Anderson, another transmission turned more urgent.
“Deputy just radioed shots fired over there,” a responder said.
Dispatch asked for the transmission again.
"Deputy reported shots fired over there,” the responder repeated.
The recording does not say who fired the shots.
The sheriff’s office’s Thursday statement went further, saying “shots were fired at the Deputy,” but it did not say how many rounds were fired, whether the deputy returned fire or how the deputy and other officers were doing Thursday morning.
The agency also has not said whether the gun in the confrontation was the stolen firearm the deputy was investigating.
‘Armed and Dangerous!!!’
After the shots were fired, the sheriff’s office said its deputy followed the fleeing suspect into the ravine before the terrain forced him to stop.
The sheriff then called for help.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol, Crook County Sheriff’s Office, Newcastle Police Department, Upton Police Department, Weston County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Upton Ambulance Service and the Weston County emergency manager joined the response, the statement said.
While officers searched the area, an emergency alert issued Wednesday night identified Anderson and warned people nearby.
“ARMED AND DANGEROUS!!!” the alert said.
It placed Anderson about 8 miles south of Upton on Highway 116 and told people not to approach him.
“Keep your doors and vehicles locked,” the alert said. “A multi agency manhunt is underway.”
The warning said Anderson was wearing gray pants and a long-sleeved shirt and that his hair was now long, though the photo issued with the alert shows him with short hair.
“This individual is dangerous!” the warning said.
The location in the dispatch traffic — milepost 7.5 — closely matches the roughly 8-mile location given to the public.
Caught before sunrise
Law enforcement and search crews worked through the night and made an arrest shortly before daybreak.
At about 5:50 a.m. Thursday, roughly 11 hours after the deputy first encountered Anderson, the sheriff’s office said he was arrested without incident.
The agency has not said exactly where he was found, which officers or agency made the arrest, whether a firearm was recovered or what charges investigators expect.
“This incident is currently under investigation, and no further information can be released at this time,” the sheriff’s office said.
As of Thursday morning, no charges against Anderson had been filed with the court, though he was in the process of booking into the Weston County Detention Center.
The sheriff’s office said DCI is now investigating what happened.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
