Crime & Courts
News

Riverton Man Accused Of Beating Friend To Death Strikes Plea Deal Before Trial
A Riverton man accused of beating his friend to death and leaving him for his parents to find has agreed to plead guilty. The agreement came just days before his manslaughter trial was to start Monday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 17, 2025

Boyfriend Of Missing Gillette Woman Irene Gakwa Set For Prison Release
The boyfriend of Irene Gakwa, a Gillette nursing student missing for three years, is set to be released from prison this month. Nathan Hightman drained her accounts after she disappeared and remains a “person of interest” in the case.
Jen KocherMarch 15, 2025

Westbound Green River Tunnel May Not Reopen Until Next Winter
It’s been more than a month since a devastating 26-vehicle Valentine’s Day crash killed three people in the Green River Tunnel on westbound Interstate 80. The Wyoming Department of Transportation says it will take months to repair and hopes to have it open by next winter.
Greg JohnsonMarch 15, 2025

'Bitcoin Billionaire' Wanted In All 50 States After Friend Pays, Loses $50K Bond
Investigators say a man who cast himself as a ‘bitcoin billionaire’ during a Jackson Hole spending spree was committing fraud. He skipped court this week - after convincing a friend to pay his $50,000 cash bond. Kevin Segal is now wanted in all 50 states.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025

AG's Office Says Gillette Judge Didn't Break Rules By Holding Public Defender In Contempt
The judge who fined a public defender $100 and ordered him to write an apology letter for being late says he followed the rules in doing so. The public defender quit after paying the fine and writing the letter.
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025
Casper Man Pleads Not Guilty To Charges From January Stabbing
A 71-year-old Casper man pleaded not guilty Friday to three charges stemming from a January stabbing at his apartment. He allegedly told police one of the stabbings was an accident.
Dale KillingbeckMarch 14, 2025

Judge Orders Trump To Reinstate Fired National Park Service Employees
A federal judge issued a scathing rebuke Thursday and ordered the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of probationary employees fired last month, including 1,000 at the National Park Service. The White House called the order "absurd and unconstitutional."
Clair McFarlandMarch 14, 2025

Fort Washakie 18-Year-Old 'Allegedly' Jumped From Car To Her Death, Initial Report Says
A Wyoming Highway Patrol preliminary investigative report published this month says Stephanie Bearstail, an 18-year-old Fort Washakie student, "allegedly" jumped from a moving vehicle to her death March 4.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025

Former Sheridan Assistant Principal Gets 3-5 Years For Sex With 18-Year-Old Student
Former Sheridan High School Assistant Principal Jacob Meyer, 34, was sentenced Thursday to between three and five years in prison after being convicted of having sex with one of his students, who was 18 at the time.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025

Murder-For-Hire Trial On Hold While Cody Woman's Mental Health Tested
Two days before her trial on a murder-for-hire charge was set to begin, a Cody woman had it delayed by asking for a mental health test. Investigators say she tried hiring a hitman to kill her daughter’s boyfriend.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025

Man Dead In Officer-Involved Shooting At Uinta County Business
Uinta County Sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Marshals personnel were involved in a shooting on Wednesday that killed a suspect who had felony-level warrants, authorities told Cowboy State Daily.
Clair McFarlandMarch 13, 2025

Judge Won't Quit Transgender Case Over Pronouns Rule, Volleyball Players Try Appeal
A federal judge said he will not recuse himself from a lawsuit over a transgender player’s inclusion on a college women’s volleyball team. The women who asked for the recusal requested an appeal Wednesday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 12, 2025
Other Than Saying Case Is ‘Complicated,’ Casper Police Mum On Fatal Shooting
Casper police said Wednesday they continue to investigate Saturday’s fatal shooting of a man at a local home. There have been no arrests, and other than saying the case is “complicated,” little is being released about the shooting.
Dale KillingbeckMarch 12, 2025

Prosecutor Says Casper Man Accused Of Illegal Gambling ‘Knew What He Was Doing’
Wyoming’s gambling laws aren’t so vague that a Casper businessman accused of running illegal gambling houses couldn’t have known he was breaking the law, a state prosecutor says. Scott Lee Shroefel “knew what he was doing,” she argued.
Clair McFarlandMarch 12, 2025

Casper Man Pleads Guilty To Shooting Crossbow Bolt Into Ex-Girlfriend’s Home
A 47-year-old Casper man admitted in court Wednesday to shooting a crossbow bolt through a window where his ex-girlfriend was staying last September. He bragged about doing something that would be “in the news.”
Dale KillingbeckMarch 12, 2025

Accused Gillette Wife-Stabber Sane Enough For Trial, State Hospital Says
A Wyoming state mental health evaluator says a Gillette man was sane enough to realize what he was doing when he allegedly stabbed his wife eight times. She survived the terrifying attack, and his attempted second-degree murder trial is set for June.
Clair McFarlandMarch 12, 2025

Supreme Court Won’t Block Climate Change Lawsuits In Wyoming, Other Red States
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a request from Wyoming and 18 other red states to block a handful of other states, including California, from suing oil and gas companies in their own courts over climate change.
Clair McFarlandMarch 11, 2025

Big Piney Teens Accused Of Killing Man In Bow-And-Arrow Ambush Sent To Higher Court
A pair of Big Piney teens could get life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of working together to kill a local man with a bow and arrows. A judge sent their case to a higher court Tuesday.
Clair McFarlandMarch 11, 2025

Two Charged For Allegedly Helping Hide 'Armed And Dangerous' Gillette Suspect
Two people have been charged with helping an 18-year-old attempted-murder suspect elude law enforcement in Campbell County. Each could face up to three years in prison if convicted of being accessories after the fact.
Clair McFarlandMarch 11, 2025

In Sweetwater County, Law Enforcement Nabs 12 People For ICE In One Day
The jail in Sweetwater County took custody of 12 people on Thursday for ICE. The sudden influx, which consisted entirely of males between the ages of 21 and 41, is well above the jail’s daily average of ICE detainee bookings.
Clair McFarlandMarch 11, 2025

Story Of Green River Heroism Takes Bizarre Turn With Phony AI Court Cases
A Wyoming judge has sanctioned a lawyer for citing fake AI cases in a lawsuit over what caused a nearly fatal house fire in Green River. A woman and her son were saved by Ryan Pasborg, who was given the nation's highest honor for heroism for his actions.
David MadisonMarch 10, 2025

Mexican National In 'Catastrophic' Crash That Killed Two Pleads Guilty
A Mexican national who smashed into a Harley trike, killing its two riders, pleaded guilty to killing one of the people Monday. Through an interpreter, he told the judge he was drunk and high in August 2023 when he hit the Harley south of Torrington, Wyoming.
Clair McFarlandMarch 10, 2025

$1 Million Bond, Attempted Murder Charge For Gillette 18-Year-Old In Shooting
A Gillette judge Monday set bond at $1 million for an 18-year-old charged with shooting another teen before eluding arrest for four days. Kamren Crousore was caught Saturday evening and has been charged with attempted second-degree murder.
Jen Kocher & Clair McFarlandMarch 10, 2025

Riverton Man Shot By 85-Year-Old Homeowner Faces Felony Intrusion Charge
A 21-year-old Riverton man who was shot after allegedly breaking into an 85-year-old man's house last August had a court hearing Monday. The judge ruled there's enough evidence to keep prosecuting the man for unlawful entry.
Clair McFarlandMarch 10, 2025
