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Headshot of Cowboy State Daily reporter, Dale Killingbeck

Dale Killingbeck

Crime & Courts

Courts

CASPER — A 35-year-old Evansville man is accused of camping out in a trailer on someone’s property, then walking into their house uninvited to get orange juice from the refrigerator.

Police say those actions happened after Garrett Maheu failed to return as required to the Casper Re-entry Center, the community corrections facility in town.

Maheu waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Casper Circuit Court on charges of burglary, criminal entry, theft, interference with a police officer, and use of controlled substance in one case and an escape charge in another case.

Court documents show Maheu’s renewed encounter with the court system began with his failing to return to the halfway house facility by midnight May 25 following a shift at the Outback Steakhouse in Casper.

He was declared an escapee by the facility at 2 a.m., and law enforcement efforts to locate Maheu were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, at about 8 p.m. the next day, Casper police were dispatched to a home on a report of a burglary. 

Officers were told by the husband of a woman at the residence that a man in a blue beanie, black shirt, and blue jeans was trying to open the doors of their house. 

His wife was inside and “freaking out,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case.

After police and the husband arrived at the home, the couple provided police with video of a man acting erratic, speaking to himself and apparently experiencing a “manic episode,” the affidavit states.

At 8:55, 911 got another call from a woman in the 2000 block of South Coffman Avenue that an unknown man just walked into her house, and she had no idea where he went.

Police responded to that home, and the woman told police he left out her back door and that she had never seen the man before.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"She Was ‘Shaking’ "}]

“(The woman) was visibly shaking from the incident and advised she was shocked by the event,” the affidavit states. She "advised she was the only adult home and had two children who were asleep.”

The woman told police that a man in a black shirt suddenly walked into her house and opened her refrigerator. 

She said she confronted the man, then he “grabbed a container of orange juice from the fridge and stated to (the woman) that he had been living in a camper parked out back.”

The woman told police he than ran out the back door with the orange juice and she then called 911.

Officers went to the back yard and found nobody in the trailer. 

They had the woman examine the trailer and she told them it “was a mess and not in that state before being stored for the winter,” the affidavit states. 

She told police the trailer was typically left unlocked.

She also pointed out a blue beanie in the bathroom of the camper that did not belong to her family. The beanie was similar to the one worn by the man on the video at the previous residence, the affidavit states.

Police searched the area, but could not locate the suspect.

At 10:12 p.m., another Casper resident called 911 about a man walking westbound in an alley who appeared to be under the influence. 

Officers responded to the area and found Maheu in the vicinity of Dover Avenue and Essex Avenue, noting he matched the description of the man at the other locations.

Maheu told officers that he had been inside the camper on South Coffman Avenue and that the woman inside the home had given permission for him to take the orange juice. 

He initially refused to give police his name, denying he was Garrett Wayne Maheu. But after being confronted with the description about the Casper Re-Entry Program escapee with the skull tattoo on his chest, which he had, he admitted his identify, the affidavit states.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Meth And Drinks"}]

At the time of his arrest, Maheu was “profusely sweating” and had “pinpoint pupils” and was acting erratically, the affidavit states.

Under questioning, Maheu admitted he had used an “eight ball” of meth a few hours earlier, the term used to describe an eighth of an ounce of the drug. 

He also had two drinks that were cold in his possession that included a Fever-Tree Ginger Beer and a Truly strawberry lemonade hard seltzer that he said he got from the cooler of a guy known as “Evil.”

When shown the beanie found in the camper, he told the officer that it “absolutely” belonged to him and that he obtained it at a truck stop.

Both the burglary and escape charges carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison as well as an up to $10,000 fine for the burglary charge. 

The criminal entry, theft, and use of a controlled substance charges are punishable by up to six months in prison and a $750 fine.

The interference with a police officer charge is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Bond was set at $10,000 cash or surety in the burglary case and $5,000 in the escape case.

Maheu had been serving time at the Casper Re-Entry Center after being sentenced for a larceny in Sweetwater County.

Maheu Casper Cop Car 6 3 26

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<title>Fugitive Accused Of Breaking Into Casper-Area Homes, Taking Orange Juice | Cowboy State Daily</title>

An Evansville man accused of not returning to a Casper halfway house after work faces more charges for allegedly breaking into people’s homes. He "grabbed a container of orange juice from the fridge” when confronted by a frightened woman at one house.

Fugitive Accused Of Breaking Into Casper-Area Homes, Taking Orange Juice

Kolby fedore

Kolby Fedore

UPDATE 2:50 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect the Goshen County Sheriff's Office confirms a suspect has been identified, and that if criminal charges are filed that will be up to the Goshen County Attorney's Office.

The family of two Rottweilers found dead and mutilated in the North Platte River near Torrington says Goshen County Sheriff

s Office representatives have told them someone has turned himself in and admitted to shooting the dogs.

Angelica Garcia, whose parents owned the dogs named Django and Hildy, said that members of the sheriff’s office informed the family on Wednesday that a person had come forward and admitted to shooting the animals.

According to Garcia, investigators declined to identify the suspect, citing concerns for that person's safety.

The case has drawn statewide attention since Friday, when the dogs disappeared after getting loose from their family's property and were later found dead by a mother and her son near a popular fishing area along the North Platte River.

Garcia told Cowboy State Daily on Monday that she believes the dogs 

The family has previously claimed the dogs were shot, their collars removed, and their bodies left in the river. Authorities have not publicly confirmed those allegations.

Goshen County Sheriff Kory Fleenor confirmed Wednesday his office does have a suspect, who is not in custody. His identity isn't being released at this time, and it will be up to the Goshen County attorney to decide if criminal charges are appropriate.

"This was an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Fleenor said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Family Says Objection To Online Posts"}]

Garcia said the revelation about the alleged suspect came during a tense conversation with investigators.

According to Garcia, members of the sheriff's office expressed frustration with videos and information the family has shared online about the case and took issue with some of the media coverage surrounding the deaths of Django and Hildy.

She said the sheriff's office expressed frustration with Pamela Garcia for videos and information the family shared online.

[{"type":"text","text":"\"We're not taking anything down,\" Garcia said."}]

The deaths of the dogs sparked a wave of public reaction after the family posted photographs and videos online and launched a petition demanding answers about what happened.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"$2,500 Reward Offered"}]

As questions continue to surround the case, Animal Wellness Action announced it is offering up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for what the organization describes as the unlawful killing of the dogs.

The reward was announced before Garcia said the family learned that someone had allegedly admitted to shooting the animals.

Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action, said he was not aware of any tips submitted to the organization as of this week, but that rewards often motivate witnesses and others with information to come forward.

"The reward really is the driver of that information," Pacelle said. "Once people understand that there's a reward, that is a very important incentive for people to participate in the process of helping law enforcement."

Pacelle said his organization became involved because of what he views as a well-established connection between animal cruelty and broader patterns of violence.

"There's a tremendous link between malicious acts of cruelty and other crimes and other social violence," he said.

Pacelle pointed to research linking animal cruelty to domestic violence and other criminal behavior.

"It's often a precursor or a red flag of someone who is going to commit other acts of violence," he said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Echoes Of The Cody Roberts Case"}]

Animal Wellness Action and its sister organization, the Center for a Humane Economy, were also involved in the high-profile case of Cody Roberts, the Daniel man who pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty after chasing down a wolf with a snowmobile and later displaying the severely injured animal in a bar.

Pacelle said the facts in the Torrington case remain unclear and stopped short of directly comparing the two incidents.

[{"type":"text","text":"Still, he said both cases raise concerns about how animals are treated."}]

"The common theme is just a contempt for the life of an innocent animal," he said.

Pacelle said the organization hopes the reward and public attention surrounding the case will encourage anyone with information to come forward.

"It does matter a great deal," he said. "People may not be aware of the correlation between animal cruelty and human criminality and violence, and we really want to underscore that."

Rottweilers and torrington 6 3 26

<title>Torrington Family Says Suspect Turns Self In For Shooting Mutilated Rottweilers | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Torrington family says the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office told them a suspect turned himself in for shooting their Rottweilers, whose mutilated bodies were found in the North Platte River. The sheriff’s office confirms there is a suspect in the case.

Torrington Family Says Suspect Turns Self In For Shooting Mutilated Rottweilers

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's business and tourism reporter, Renée Jean

Renée Jean

Government & Politics

Most of the Cheyenne Planning Commission members backed parts of Microsoft’s sweeping 3,200-acre southside expansion plans Monday night during a marathon five-hour hearing. 

But only one part of the plan — assigning agricultural zoning to the 3,050-acre Highlands area if it is annexed — will reach the June 8 City Council meeting with a recommendation to approve.

The remaining items — future land-use and zoning map amendments for two parcels in the vicinity of Laramie Community College — failed to get the four “yes” votes required by state law to give the land-use changes a formal thumbs up from the planners.

With two of seven commissioners absent, and the chair voting only in case of a tie, a single “no” was enough to flip majority support for the Highlands-related measures into a recommendation to deny. 

A majority, meanwhile, voted to outright deny changes for the nearby Read Property, which is already inside city limits.

That meant the future land-use map amendment and zoning map amendment for the largest parcel failed — even though three of the five commissioners present voted in favor of them. 

They will thus both head to the council with formal recommendations to deny. 

Plan Fits Long-Range Vision, Utilities Can Keep Up

During deliberation of the measures, city staff framed the changes as consistent with long-range planning for Cheyenne’s economic development. 

The staff emphasized that these areas could be served by city water and sewer and folded into the urban service boundary with appropriate infrastructure, including possible lift stations and extensions.

“The subject property is suitable for industrial development, noting the impacts of the industrial development will be minimal on the large vacant surrounding properties and the proposed amendment is consistent with the goals and policies within Plan Cheyenne,” Cheyenne Planner Connor White said.

 “The transportation network because this wasn’t part of the Urban Service Boundary, there really isn’t a transportation network for this area,” White added. "That would be developed over time.”

The property would eventually connect into Bison Business Park as it develops over time, which would involve subsequent applications that would go before the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Water and sewer lines would have to be extended to the location, which is up for annexation consideration at the June 8 council meeting.

The area’s county zoning already allows some light industrial uses, and there’s already a gravel pit and oil wells in the area, White added.

Commissioner Questions Scale, Impact Of Project

Commissioner Meghan Connor was first to question the project.

“This is about 18% of the city’s current size, nearly one-fifth,” she said. “How in the world can you even begin to understand the impact it’s going to have … when you can’t even fathom the size of this compared to the city? It overtakes the city.”

She wondered how it was concluded that the site is beneficial to the community.

“I’m really failing to understand that,” she said. “How do we know long-term impacts if we don’t even have one going? How can you determine that something one-fifth the size of the current city is going to be an appropriate fit for our community?”

Planning and Zoning Development Director Charles Bloom told Connor that from a long-range planning standpoint a majority of the area in question is already occupied by railroad lines.

“So it may seem artificially inflated,” he said. “There really are only small pieces that are available, excluding a couple of existing industrial parks like Swan Ranch.”

The additions Microsoft has requested, meanwhile, are what the company perceives as a need at this time, Bloom said. 

“Really, anything regarding how or why they’re looking at this large area, what their intent would be, I would just refer that to the applicant,” Bloom said. 

Connor also asked questions about how the city would know if a data center is polluting an aquifer or the air, or making too much noise.

“That’s a great question,” Bloom said. “One of the safeguards here is that this would be a development that will be located within the city limits. So it will be required to connect to city water and sewer.”

Cheyenne has is able to monitor data centers connected to its systems electronically. 

The city is also requiring that the data center not directly connect its closed-loop cooling system to the city’s wastewater treatment system, which means there’s no direct access.

Actual water use by data centers was another topic of discussion. Connor said she’s heard several times the “five households” figure bandied about. 

But she and Commissioner Amy Hernandez, both, said they’d like to know the figure in gallons, as well as how much water, overall, Microsoft is proposing to use on that 3,050-acre or so parcel.

Frank Strong, with the Board of Public Utilities, said it’s difficult to say how much overall water will be used, given that Microsoft itself has not yet developed any detailed plans for the parcel. Microsoft is billing the Highlands parcel as part of a long-range, 10-year-plus commitment to doing business in Cheyenne.

An individual household typically uses 80,000 gallons a year, he said. If one guessed that the 3,200 parcel would one day have 40 data centers — a round number Strong selected for ease of calculation — the overall gallons would be 16 million. 

“Where we are right now, we have a surplus of 2.7 trillion gallons,” Strong said. “So it’s a very small drop in the bucket of what we have.”

The amount of water all of Cheyenne’s existing data centers are now using, meanwhile, doesn’t equal out to the 2 million gallons of water HollyFrontier used to use for refining petroleum products. 

That’s put BOPU actively looking to sell more water, so that the economics continue to support the water system without requiring increased user fees.

“All the data centers that are online right now used about 93 million gallons last year, which is around a little over 2% of our water sales,” Strong said.

Connor also wondered about water use for power generation, questions Strong said he could not answer.

While some power generation methods use significant amounts of water, there are also newer approaches, with closed-loop cooling, that use much less water than power generation of old.

Resident Decries Outdated Maps, Misrepresentation

Residents also pushed back against the developments.

Heather Madrid, who has been circulating a petition that calls for a moratorium on data centers, chastised the city for relying on outdated plans and maps to make sweeping changes, and urged them to “consider the people who live here and have lived here for years over people and developers who do not live here.”

Madrid also questioned bringing the Highlands property into the city with an agricultural zoning, when clearly the intended purpose for the land is not agriculture.

“That seems like a very intentional misrepresentation of the intent,” she said. “And it’s kind of in line with — and worsening — this idea that there is not transparency. And it’s led to panic, quite frankly, and extreme hypervigilance within the public to even be willing to argue for almost two hours over landscaping. 

"This is very concerning to me. This isn’t a little bit of land, and the final intended use is actually not even remotely aligned with the future land-use map, which to my understanding is, again, grossly outdated,” Madrid added. 

“I don’t know why we continue to rely on that map for these massive annexations and projects,” she continued. “Which are, as someone stated earlier, locking the city in and preventing future growth in a diverse way.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"What About Infrasound?"}]

Charles Miller, meanwhile, agreed with Madrid’s criticism of outdated maps and called the overall approach to the project a massive “deception.”

“We are debating a 3,000-acre industrial expansion, about 18% of the current size of the city of Cheyenne,” he said. “Yet staff is attempting to characterize this as a minor incremental increase in utility demand. 

"However, the Board of Public Utilities just admitted that this parcel was never on their master plan and requires significant new infrastructure, including a dedicated lift station to even function,” Miller said. "You cannot reconcile the reality of a 3,000-acre industrial footprint with the claim that it will have a minimal impact on Cheyenne’s utility or water future."

The lack of a detailed design for the campus, meanwhile, means the city would be authorizing a zoning change for something that doesn’t yet exist on paper.

“You have no site plan, no traffic mitigation, no finalized utility plan,” Miller said. “To recommend approval of a ghost project of this magnitude is a total abdication of this commission’s fiduciary duty to Plan Cheyenne.”

Miller also questioned whether the annexation was an attempt to escape review of the project by the Wyoming Industrial Siting Council.

“That state-level process is the only mechanism designed to force developers to fund and mitigate impacts on schools housing, and roads,” he said. “By rezoning to Business park, you are knowingly creating a void that strips this community of its right to state-mandated impact mitigation for infrasound liability.”

Infrasound refers to low-frequency sound waves below 20 hz. While that can’t be heard by human ears, Miller said studies are showing it can still have negative impacts for both humans and wildlife.

“Director Bloom admitted on record that the city currently lacks forensic data to evaluate or regulate low frequency infrasound from these facilities,” he said. 

“You’re being asked to recommend a massive industrial expansion for a project known to generate these impacts, while the city openly admits it is still investigating the hazard.”

City, LEADS Have Already Wrestled With Many Of The Questions

Betsey Hale with Cheyenne LEADS told commissioners many of the concerns being raised are things Cheyenne officials have already wrestled with over the last decade or so. 

“You have planning commissioners who have been thoughtful about this for 14 years,” she said. “And that’s why these projects are in business parks, because we have conditions, covenants, and restrictions.”

Putting them in business parks and connecting them to the city’s water and sewer system gives the city more enforcement capability, Hale suggested. 

As far as providing power, that’s accomplished through Black Hills Energy, which conducted a three-year study of transmission and their ability to provide power through a large-load tariff.

“For 14 years, we have done everything we can to protect the citizens of Cheyenne, the residents of Cheyenne, the ratepayers of Cheyenne, the water resources, the sewer capabilities,” Hale said. “I think we should actually celebrate the fact that in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Laramie County, we’ve kind of done it right.”

Hale added that she appreciates Madrid and other commenters helping the city better understand their concerns so that they can ensure more of the community’s needs are really being met.

Part Of Microsoft’s Long-Range Plan In Cheyenne 

Microsoft’s representative, Rachel Irwing, told the Commission the rezoning is a “critical step in advancing a strategically planned data center campus and are intended to work together to ensure consistency between land use, zoning and long-term planning.”

The property is in the process of being acquired, she added, with a timeframe sometime this summer.

“Given the early stage of this effort, Microsoft has not yet advanced detailed designs for the campus,” Irwing said. “While we may not have all the answers today, regarding a specific design element or timing, we remain committed to being open and transparent with community, as we have been with our other local projects.”

Irwing said the company intends to ensure its projects continue to be consistent with Cheyenne’s “long-term growth vision and land-use planning objectives.”

“This will allow us to move forward in a coordinated way with infrastructure,  utilities, and development standards under city jurisdiction,” she said. “Together, the proposed business park zoning, the future land-use amendment, and the eventual annexation into the city provide a cohesive framework to guide development of the site in a way that aligns with the city’s planning goals.”

The planned infrastructure investments Microsoft will make, meanwhile, will support long-term economic development goals for the region.

“We recognize this is just the first step in a broader, multi-phase process that will include detailed engineering and additional opportunities for public review and input,” Irwing said. “We want to emphasize that Microsoft approaches projects like this with a long-term commitment to the communities where we operate.”

Ultimately, however, all the reassurance didn’t lead to approving recommendations for any of the measures, outside of the recommended agricultural zoning for the large, 3,050-acre Highlands parcel if it’s annexed into the city.

Still, it is the City Council who will make the decision on whether to annex the property and whether to approve the land and zoning use changes. That body has already rejected a moratorium on new data centers, amid rising questions and opposition in the community. 

Councilman Larry Wolfe, who was among councilmen who listened in on the entire session, said that for him, his vote will come down to Microsoft providing better answers for why it wants to annex such a large parcel of land into the city right now, if they don’t have development plans for it looking out 10 years or more.

Without that, “they can’t answer any of the important issues: water, energy, even the number of buildings because everything will have changed from a technology standpoint,” Wolfe told Cowboy State Daily. 

“What is the benefit to the city if we annex now, unless they are going to do some substantial things for the residents?” he asked. “Making (Sen. Cynthia) Lummis a lot richer is not a compelling reason. They failed to persuade the Planning Commission on the zoning changes.” 

Lummis’ family owns the 3,050-acre Highlands parcel that’s part of Microsoft’s future data center expansion plans.

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<title>Cheyenne Planners Recommend Denial For Most Of Microsoft’s Data Center Expansion | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Cheyenne planners are recommending denial of most of the provisions in a huge 3,200-acre Microsoft data center expansion. “This is about 18% of the city’s current size. It overtakes the city,” said one resident during a marathon five-hour hearing Monday.

Cheyenne Planners Recommend Denial For Most Of Microsoft’s Data Center Expansion

A Lincoln County contractor could be facing serious criminal charges after allegedly beating a man, threatening him with a shovel, taking his phone and coercing him into signing over a truck and equipment during a daylong 

Lincoln County Sheriff's Deputy Kale McGee outline the allegations in a 12-page affidavit filed Friday and made available Tuesday, seeking charges of aggravated blackmail and battery against Thomas John Robinson.

mother called 911 from Afton, reporting her son had been held against his will and was covered in blood, wrote McGee. 

The sheriff's deputy arrived to find the man wearing a white shirt stained with dried blood. McGee wrote that he also had dried blood near his nose and fresh bruising on his face.

The man claims Robinson arrived at his Thayne-area home around 10 a.m. demanding repayment from a failed equipment deal.

Robinson money, but said he couldn't immediately pay him, and that Robinson could not simply take vehicles and equipment 

He said he "originally owed Robinson $30,000, but Robinson kept bumping the price up.” 

The alleged victim said that Robinson then grabbed him by his sweatshirt collar, threw him to the ground and climbed on top of him, wrote McGee. 

"He popped me,” the man told investigators, later reported pain in his ribs, face, and mouth.

Next, he said Robinson loaded up a trailer and skid steer onto the man's truck and hauled him to a property on Rock Farm Road outside Etna.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Threats And A Shovel "}]

Once at the property, the man told investigators that the confrontation escalated, according to the affidavit.

He said Robinson began videotaping him and humiliating him while accusing him of fraud.

In a video taken by a witness, Robinson tells the man, "I honestly can't believe there's people like you around in this world,” the affidavit says. "Every one of us as a god — civilization and a community. 

"Every one of us that's a normal mother f***er that goes and works for their money needs to come together and f***ing catch people like you and string you up and flog you daily." 

In the video, Robinson calls the man a "piece of shit" multiple times, wrote McGee. "Like I said, I got him by the balls. I got him right by the balls; he just forfeited his truck and equipment to me and agreed to do so."

The man claimed Robinson threatened to hit him in the back of the head with a shovel and "bury him,” and also told him that he would come after him if he went to the cops. 

Robinson also allegedly threatened to burn down the man's house with his children inside and to "take him out of the community," again referencing striking him with a shovel, according to the affidavit.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Robinson Tells A Different Story"}]

Robinson acknowledged to the sheriff’s office that he confronted the other man over money, but described the encounter very differently.

According to McGee, Robinson told investigators he had been trying for months to recover money he believed was owed to him.

Robinson said he discovered the man had recently acquired a truck, trailer and skid steer despite owing him money.

McGee wrote that Robinson told investigators the man voluntarily drove the equipment to Robinson's property and later agreed to sign over his truck and equipment as collateral 

Robinson denied bloodying the man, telling investigators that he told him he was free to leave and ultimately agreed to work off the debt.

McGee wrote that Robinson produced six invoices totaling $43,589.16 and documents allegedly signed by the man transferring the truck as collateral.

Before investigators arrived at the property to talk to Robinson, they learned that he had an active warrant out to Idaho with full extradition. 

When they told Robinson there was a warrant for his arrest out of Fremont County, Idaho, Robinson began "using vulgar language and became agitated," wrote McGee. "He refused to let me place him in handcuffs behind his back and told me that he had shoulder issues.” 

He was ultimately placed in handcuffs and taken to the Lincoln County Detention Center, but according to the sheriff's department, he is no longer there. 

Court records in Fremont County, Idaho, show Robinson had been facing a felony DUI charge there. 

However, a plea agreement was filed May 28 and the case has been remanded to a lower court, according to a Fremont County District Court clerk. The clerk said the felony charge has been reduced to a misdemeanor and Robinson is expected to enter a plea in the lower court.

A Lincoln County man is accused of beating a man to coerce him to sign over a truck and equipment during a daylong shakedown over a debt. “Catch people like you and string you up and flog you daily,” police say the contractor threatens on video.

Mary Kathleen Smedley, 86