A 46-year-old man who led police on a dangerous high-speed chase — through two crowded parking lots, across Cheyenne and onto Interstate 80 — that reached nearly 100 mph has picked up his fourth criminal case in three months.
Perhaps William Joseph Hyde knew there were three bench warrants out for his arrest when he decided during a Thursday conversation with a Cheyenne police officer to get back into his car, speed through two busy parking lots and avoid spike strips to get onto I-80.
The warrants were issued after Hyde missed 48 court-ordered drug tests in other criminal cases, court records show.
Meanwhile, Hyde was finally stopped and arrested by the Wyoming Highway Patrol on his way to Laramie and made his first appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on a list of misdemeanor charges, including eluding, reckless driving, failure to maintain a single lane, and interference with a peace officer.
Cheyenne Police Department Officer Alyssa Muzquiz reports in an affidavit of probable cause filed in Hyde’s case that she first responded to a local gaming parlor at about 10:10 a.m. on a report that a suspect in a larceny that happened at the club was there.
The suspect was described as a white male possibly in his late 30s wearing a black hat and black-and-white plaid T-shirt, who the officer saw get into a gray 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited when she arrived, the affidavit said.
So, she followed him in her marked patrol car.
“I got behind the suspect vehicle … and followed it into the parking lot of Albertsons,” she wrote, which is across the street from the club along Ridge Road in Cheyenne.
“The suspect parked in a parking spot and I parked behind him,” the affidavit says. “As he got out of the vehicle, I got out too and asked if I could talk to him.”
She informed Hyde that he matched the description of the suspect in the gaming parlor larceny and asked for his name. He told her “William,” but got nervous when she asked for his last name.
“When I asked for his last name again, he began moving towards the open driver’s side door. I told him not to reach or get into his vehicle,” Muzquiz wrote. “The suspect quickly got into the vehicle and closed the door.”
Muzquiz tried to open his Jeep door, but Hyde had locked it, then ignored several commands to get out of the vehicle, the affidavit says.
The Chase
That’s when the chase started, with Hyde allegedly driving recklessly through the Albertsons parking lot to get back onto Ridge Road, where he picked up speed until he got to E. Lincolnway, Muzquiz wrote.
“He was traveling at a high rate of speed. I initiated my red and blue lights,” the affidavit says, adding that another officer also picked up the chase.
“The suspect turned west into 3354 E. Lincolnway, the Maverik gas station parking lot, and then onto Lincolnway,” according to the affidavit. “The parking lot had customers in it while the suspect was driving recklessly through it.”
Hyde then led police on a chase through Cheyenne on Lincolnway, hitting the historic downtown district, where the speed limit is 20 mph and the area is busy at that time of the late morning.
Along the way, he allegedly swerved around cars, through red stoplights and the wrong way when blocked by traffic, the affidavit says.
“At Converse Avenue, all westbound lanes had vehicles in them, including the turn lane, and the traffic light was red,” the affidavit says. “The suspect drove into oncoming traffic to bypass the stopped vehicles and drove through the red light.”
When the chase got to downtown Cheyenne, other vehicles had to swerve to avoid the Jeep going 25-30 mph over the speed limit, then he avoided spike strips that were placed just before the on-ramp to westbound I-80 at Otto Road, the affidavit says.
The Cheyenne PD stopped the chase at that point, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol picked it up, eventually stopping Hyde at about mile marker 341 in Albany County.
48 Missed Drug Tests
If the chase through Cheyenne wasn’t enough to justify Hyde’s arrest, he also had three outstanding bench warrants stemming from three open criminal cases since July 23, according to court records.
The warrants were issued after Hyde missed 48 drug tests that were required by the court as a condition of his bond.
• On Aug. 7, Hyde was arrested and charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance in powder or crystal form.
• About a week earlier, on July 30, he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance/pills or capsules. He pleaded not guilty and a jury trial has been set for Jan. 1.
• And a week before that, Hyde picked up his third DUI arrest within 10 years. He also pleaded not guilty to that charge and is set for a jury trial in that case as well.
• He also failed to show up to court for a speeding ticket he got in May, court records show.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
