CASPER — A 21-year-old Casper man entered guilty pleas Tuesday in Natrona County District Court to biting the shin of one Casper police officer and biting a second officer in the groin area during an incident April 19.
Two other interference charges, including allegations that Sylvester Jakeson Seaton grabbed the second officer’s testicles and interfered with and obstructed his arrest, were to be dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Seaton stood in court in orange jail clothes and chains next to attorney Marty Scott, who outlined to Judge Kerri Johnson the terms of the agreement made with Natrona County Assistant District Attorney Patrick LeBrun.
Those terms included guilty pleas via an Alford plea, in which a defendant maintains his innocence but acknowledges that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to likely obtain a conviction. The judge must still find a factual basis for accepting the plea.
Under terms of the deal Scott said his client would be sentenced to up to a maximum combined term of eight years in prison on the two counts of felony interference with a peace officer, with both counts capped at eight years. A lesser sentence could be argued at the sentencing hearing, he said.
The sentences would be served concurrently, Scott said. He said the prosecution also agreed to “recommend the youthful offender program.”
Johnson told Seaton that due to the Alford plea deal she was not going to ask him to supply the facts of the case. She asked Seaton if he understood the terms of the agreement and his potential sentence.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, asking again if a lesser sentence could be argued.
The judge told him that was part of the agreement.
“You are free to argue anything, including probation,” Johnson said.
The judge then asked Seaton how he would plead, referring to both counts of interference.
“Guilty, pursuant to an Alford plea,” he said, both times.
Affidavit Sufficient
LeBrun did not offer any remarks on Seaton’s conduct that brought about the charges other than to say the affidavit was sufficient to supply the facts supporting the defendant’s guilt.
Scott agreed that the affidavit provided “sufficient evidence” for the state to get a conviction.
Johnson said she would defer accepting the plea deal until she had read a pre-sentence report and would dismiss the two other interference charges against Seaton.
Scott asked the judge if she would consider converting Seaton’s $50,000 cash or surety bond to a personal-recognizance bond.
“Mr. Seaton was intoxicated … It was out of his character,” Scott said. “I know it’s a big ask.”
LeBrun objected to the PR bond and said that the circumstances of the case showed concerns for the security of the community.
Scott asked the judge to reduce it to $10,000.
Johnson said the PR bond was not appropriate given the circumstances of the case, but agreed to reduce the bond to $25,000 cash or surety. She added specific conditions for alcohol and drug testing should he bond out.
According to the affidavit, Casper police were dispatched to the 1400 block of Kearney Avenue for a disturbance about 10 p.m. April 19, when a woman reported that she heard “yelling, screaming, and breaking things” in a nearby backyard.
When officers arrived, they were told by the property owner that people were living in a small camper in his backyard and they were causing the disturbance.
Officers saw two men and one woman inside the camper — and one of the men appeared to be getting ready to attack law enforcement.
Box Cutter Pulled
A 26-year-old man inside the camper was seen pulling a box cutter from his pocket, opening the blade, and crouching on the floor near the door of the camper, the affidavit states.
A 20-year-old woman opened the camper door and closed it behind her. That’s when an officer told her he saw the man with the box cutter.
She told the man to drop the weapon, and when she opened the door again officers saw the man bleeding from his left arm.
“(The man) advised he cut himself to see if his knife was still sharp,” the affidavit states.
As the man left the camper, his arm was bleeding significantly, the affidavit says.
One of the officers then addressed Seaton, who appeared “dazed,” “confused,” and “possibly intoxicated."
As an officer dealt with the bleeding man, Seaton got up and tried to leave the camper. Still trying to determine if the bleeding man was a victim or needed medical attention, officers instructed Seaton not to walk away.
When he approached the officers, one officer “wanted to de-escalate the situation by putting Seaton in handcuffs,” the affidavit says.
Seaton “actively” resisted and tried to pull away and escape, but officers put handcuffs on him without injuring anyone involved, the affidavit states.
At that point, Seaton continued to fight and was placed on the ground while the other male and female in the camper, “who had been seen with knives,” could be observed.
The 26-year-old man with the bleeding arm told Seaton to “comply,” according to the affidavit.
Instead, Seaton continued rolling on the ground trying to get up, despite police commands and requests to “relax.”
Grabbed Testicles
Seaton then rolled and got his hands on one of the officer’s testicles and was able to “grab them away” from the officer’s body.
The officer pulled away, but Seaton kept hold of his testicles and pants, while at the same time biting the shin of the officer’s partner, “breaking the skin” and causing bruising.
Meanwhile, Seaton was struck in the face twice by the officer whose testicles he held, which was “effective” in getting the 21-year-old to let go.
Additional officers arrived to help get control of Seaton on the ground in preparation for putting him in a full-body restraint system.
Seaton continued to fight and roll on the ground and maneuvered his head and mouth to the groin area of the same officer whose testicles he had grabbed.
“(Seaton) bit (the officer) in the upper right groin area ripping (the officer’s) pants and causing an abrasion in the inner groin that broke the skin and caused bleeding,” the affidavit states.
The officer said it felt like he had been stabbed in the groin and he hit Seaton again in the face, which made Seaton roll away to his other side, where he appeared to try to bite other officers, the affidavit states.
Officers finally gained control of Seaton, and he was placed in a restraint.
He was arrested and charged with interfering and causing bodily injury to peace officers while they were performing their duties.
Both officers involved were treated by Banner Wyoming Medical Center for their injuries.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
