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Kerry Drake

Crime & Courts

A Colorado man has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide in the death of a 22-year-old passenger flung from his car after he crashed while trying to elude police at more than 100 mph on Clear Creek Parkway near Cheyenne. 

Both Colorado resident James K. Moore and another passenger from South Carolina were hospitalized. Christian Dawsey, 22, also from Colorado, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene, the Wyoming Highway Patrol reports.

In addition to aggravated vehicular homicide, which can carry up to a 20-year sentence, Moore was charged in Laramie County Circuit Court on Thursday with aggravated assault, property destruction and defacement, reckless driving and attempting to elude police.

WHP Trooper Brandon Todd initially noticed that Moore, 26, did not have functioning taillights as he drove near Exit 7 

 in Cheyenne just after 11 p.m. July 23. In an affidavit, Todd wrote that the car appeared to be pulling over after the trooper activated his emergency lights while leaving the median.

The incident escalated quickly when Moore’s white Hyundai IONIQ 5 instead exited at West College Drive and Clear Creek Parkway, then quickly accelerated to flee southbound. Todd wrote that the vehicle was traveling more than 100 mph in a 45 mph zone, and he eventually saw Moore's car crash.

Moore failed to navigate a sharp left turn and continued straight, exiting the roadway and becoming airborne, Todd wrote.

"I saw what looked like a small explosion from the vehicle," the affidavit says, adding that he found the wreckage in the parking lot of Simon, a business at 6215 Clear Creek Parkway.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Thrown From Car"}]

He approached and found Moore “unconscious and unresponsive." A passenger later identified as the man from South Carolina was semi-conscious and had severe bruising on the right side of his face, Todd wrote.

"I ran through the parking lot and made my way to the vehicle, where I made contact with the driver, who was unconscious and unresponsive," the affidavit says, adding that he was identified as Moore from his Colorado driver's license.

 twice told Todd that he and Moore were the only two people in the car, while “Moore began itching his nose and would not respond to verbal stimuli,” according to the affidavit.

It was when he was walking back to his patrol car that Todd says he found Dawsey's body, and it was apparent he had been killed.

"I began walking back to my patrol car through the debris field and the path the vehicle took as it crashed through the parking lot," Todd's affidavit says. "I located the third occupant of the vehicle, who was laying on his stomach, face down, and had sustained injuries in the crash that were not compatible with life."

Todd said he identified a strong odor of a flavored alcoholic beverage while he attempted to talk to Moore and the other passenger, and later found a small red-and-clear alcoholic beverage in the driver’s side door cup holder.

Todd wrote that he found empty beer cans and smaller alcoholic containers called “shooters” as he walked through the debris field.

Both Moore and the South Carolina man were extricated from the vehicle at the scene by emergency medical responders. A blood sample was taken from Moore and he was read Wyoming’s Implied Consent Advisement.

Moore was flown to Colorado via LifeFlight for further care. The surviving passenger was transported by ground ambulance to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center.

Dawsey died at the scene, Todd wrote, adding that he was not wearing a seat belt. 

During the investigation, Todd said Dawsey’s grandparents notified the WHP dispatch that they had received a crash notification from his phone. 

While completing his inventory of the crash scene, Todd opened a backpack that contained a urine test and a sex toy.

On Monday, Todd noted that he had discovered from the Larimer County (Colorado) Probation Office that Moore was on probation for felony menacing with a real or simulated weapon and he was not allowed to come into Wyoming.

He also wrote that people on probation sometimes use fake urine for required drug testing.

High Speed crash WHP 7 30 26

Cowboy State Daily is Wyoming’s largest newspaper with Wyoming’s most experienced journalists. 

<title>Colorado Man Charged In Death Of Passenger Thrown From His Car At 100 MPH | Cowboy State Daily</title>

A Colorado man is charged in the death of a man flung from his car when it crashed in a Cheyenne parking lot while running from troopers at 100 mph. The passenger “sustained injuries in the crash that were not compatible with life,” a trooper reports.

Colorado Man Charged In Death Of Passenger Thrown From His Car At 100 MPH

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's managing editor, Greg Johnson.

Greg Johnson

Courts

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a 

 on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

The Converse County Attorney’s Office could file a motion to revoke or forfeit all, some or none of Smallbone’s bond, said Steven Titus, a Gillette defense attorney.

Smallbone also could be ordered to pay for the costs of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office to go get him from San Francisco, where he was 

, four hours after he missed his court hearing.

And those costs could likely be pulled from that $250,000 bond, said Titus, adding that he’s referencing general options and not specifics about Smallbone’s case.

That said, he thinks Smallbone missing that hearing “was stupid,” and that it’s “very rare” for someone to not show up for court when a large amount of money or their home is on the line.

“I can’t remember the last time someone willingly missed court, knowingly missed court, with that kind of money on the line,” Titus said. “It’s really rare for something like this to happen.”

As of Thursday afternoon, Smallbone was still being held at the San Francisco County Jail on a fugitive warrant out of Wyoming.

He hasn’t yet been seen by a judge there and a hearing on his extradition to Wyoming hasn’t been set, according to the Superior Court of San Francisco.

When he does get back, Titus said he would be “shocked” if the judge in his case doesn’t revoke his bond altogether or raise it significantly.

“My guess is the judge will increase the bond, because if he wasn’t a flight risk before, he’s shown he is now,” Titus said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Who Gets The Money?"}]

The Converse County Attorney’s Office so far hasn’t filed a motion to revoke or forfeit Smallbone’s bond, according to the public-facing court file in the case.

While he won’t comment on Smallbone’s case or circumstances, Converse County Deputy Prosecutor Nathan Shumway echoed Titus’ assessment that there are many things that can determine just how much — or little — bond is forfeited in a criminal case.

That process could include holding an evidentiary hearing to show someone “willfully violated a condition of their bond,” Shumway said in an email to Cowboy State Daily.

“In the instance of a failure to appear, what usually must be proven is that the failure to appear was willful, and not because of something outside the defendant’s control,” he said.

“If the State meets its burden, the Defendant’s bond is revoked and the process continues as if the person had admitted to violating their bond,” he added.

[{"type":"text","text":"If not, the bond is reinstated."}]

The $250,000 question some are asking now that Smallbone has been picked up for the second time within a week on a fugitive warrant in another state is: Where does that money go?

[{"type":"text","text":"It can be a variety of places, both Titus and Shumway said."}]

Some of the money can be used to repay costs associated with finding and apprehending someone on the run, and the court can implement penalties, Titus added.

[{"type":"text","text":"Whatever is left goes to local schools."}]

“When a bond is ordered forfeited by the court, the money is paid into the county treasury to the credit of the county’s public school fund, in accordance with Wyoming Statute 7-10-105,” Shumway said.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How We Got Here"}]

Smallbone was released from jail June 24, when someone walked into the Converse County Detention Center with $250,000 cash.

He was arrested July 22 on a fugitive warrant in Fort Collins, Colorado, after investigators learned he may have been trying to flee Wyoming.

 on a personal recognizance bond before Converse County officials could bring him back to Wyoming.

Smallbone then was a no-show for his Tuesday arraignment hearing in Douglas, then about four hours later was arrested again in San Francisco, Sheriff Clint Becker reported.

Siegel hadn’t responded by Thursday afternoon to an offer to explain what happened in her courtroom with Smallbone.

The result was frustrating for law enforcement in two states, with Converse County Undersheriff Chris Walsh calling the release “a surprising twist” that left him “shocked.”

The Larimer County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado also has questioned how an accused child sex abuser was released.

“Mr. Smallbone was taken into custody on a valid and active warrant out of Wyoming, which included dozens of allegations of sexual crimes against children,” agency spokesperson Kylie Masserman said in a Monday email to Cowboy State Daily. 

She said her office asked Magistrate Siegel to also issue a $250,000 cash-only bond for Smallbone. 

That’s because the objective was “to keep him in custody until he could be transferred back to Wyoming to face his charges,” she said in the statement. “This request was consistent with what the Wyoming authorities requested and consistent with our practices on cases of this severity.”

Masserman said that instead, the personal recognizance bond was issued “contrary to our request.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Hearing"}]

Meanwhile, Converse County officials were ready and waiting in case Smallbone did show up for his Tuesday hearing, or for any trouble that might ensue because of the nature of the allegations against him.

Sheriff Becker was leaning on a rail outside the justice center ahead of the scheduled hearing, flanked by five deputies. 

Three more deputies manned the security station just inside the front doors, and two Douglas cops were hanging out inside the courtroom.

While there were no emotional fireworks, Becker said he and his deputies were ready “just in case.”

It was the same inside the courtroom, which looked a bit like a shotgun wedding, with the 30 or so people watching from the gallery choosing to sit behind the prosecutor’s table.

[{"type":"text","text":"The hearing, scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m., was over by 3:35."}]

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"The Charges"}]

Smallbone’s charges relate to a trove of videos and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) allegedly found on his phone and electronic devices while Converse County investigators were looking into a report that he propositioned a young girl, according to a court affidavit.

The mother of an underage girl reported concerning interactions her daughter had with Smallbone on May 9.

The girl was in a vehicle with Smallbone and others when he allegedly typed “if you suck me, I’ll lick you” on his phone and showed it to the girl, according to an affidavit of probable cause written by Lt. Benjamin K.P. Peech of the Converse County Sheriff’s Office.

“He also mouthed the words, ‘I want to see you naked,’” the affidavit says.

Smallbone later denied mouthing anything or showing the girl any messages.

On those devices, investigators report that they found dozens of images and videos depicting prepubescent girls and boys performing a wide range of sex acts, the affidavit says. Many of the videos appear to have been created by Smallbone in rooms and spaces that are identifiable enough to connect them to alleged potential victims.

The most disturbing allegations stem from a series of at least seven videos that the affidavit reports allegedly show a young girl having her pants pulled down and being subjected to sex with a dog.

Along with the CSAM, investigators say they found “records indicating (his phone) had been used to connect to the Tor Browser, which is commonly used by subjects accessing CSAM to communicate within the Dark Web anonymously,” the affidavit says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"He’s charged with:"}]

• 1 count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

• 36 counts of possessing child pornography.

• 16 counts of using a video camera to record intimate areas of another person without consent.

• 18 counts of knowingly manufacturing, generating, or creating child pornography.

• 1 count of possessing more than 3 ounces of marijuana (1.3 pounds).

At Tuesday’s hearing, Shumway said his office intends to file new, expanded charges against Smallbone. Those weren’t available in the public court files as of Thursday afternoon.

If convicted with maximum concurrent sentences, Smallbone could face up to 791 years in prison and fines of up to $710,000.

The most serious is the sexual abuse of a minor charge, which calls for a sentence of between 25 and 50 years.

Smallbone and courthouse 2 7 30 26

<title>What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Just because a Douglas man facing 72 child sex and pornography-related charges was a no-show for his arraignment hearing on Tuesday doesn’t necessarily mean whoever put up $250,000 cash to bond him out of jail will lose all that money.

What Happens To $250,000 Bond For Accused Sex Abuser Who No-Showed At Court

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's Feature Reporter, Andrew Rossi.

Andrew Rossi

Business & Tourism

Dozens of horses might have been exposed to a highly contagious disease recently at the Park County Fair in Powell.

On Tuesday, Smallwood Horses announced it was placing its Powell facility under a voluntary two-week quarantine after one of its horses presented symptoms of an infection of the bacterium Streptococcus equi, also known as Strangles.

“This horse presented no symptoms before, during, or immediately after (the) fair,” Ashley Smallwood said 

. “Veterinarians contacted about possible exposure suggest that the horses attending the fair be monitored for symptoms.”

Britt Whitt of Whitt Veterinary Services in Powell released a statement saying strangles is “a highly infectious disease” with “high morbidity and low mortality.”

“In the case of an outbreak, many animals that are exposed will develop the disease, but very few will die from the disease,” Whitt said.

Whitt was not available for additional information at the time of publication. Smallwood told Cowboy State Daily she would “absolutely not” discuss the exposure and quarantine.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"How Serious Is Strangles?"}]

Erin Brus is a Certified Equine Massage Therapist (CEMT), veterinary technician, and horse owner working in Park County. She had strong feelings about the strangles exposure at the Park County Fair.

“On a personal level, there are a lot of words I cannot use,” she told Cowboy State Daily. “On a professional level, I’m severely disappointed.”

Brus explained that strangles affects horses like a combination of “pneumonia and a really bad head cold.” Symptoms include a high fever, swollen lymph nodes, nasal discharge, lethargy, and loss of appetite.

What concerns Brus and other horse owners is how easily strangles can spread.

“It is, by far, one of the most contagious sicknesses there is,” she said. “It’s as easy as sharing a water or feed bucket with a friend, and owners can transfer it off their boots, jeans, shirts, and hands.”

Brus said she’s constantly disinfecting her equipment and herself to prevent spreading any infections to the horses she owns and works with.

“I’m a paranoid horse owner that when I heard about this, I immediately texted the vet I work with to see if I needed to do anything,” she said.

Around 75% of horses infected with strangles come out of it within two weeks and develop an immunity within three to six weeks, according to Brus. The infection can be fatal, but usually only for foals or immunocompromised adults.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Where’s The Outrage?"}]

Brus has been following the spread of strangles this summer. According to the data she’s reviewed, via 

, the impact has stretched across Wyoming.

“We have 12 confirmed cases in Wyoming across seven different counties this summer,” she said.

 said that strangles cases had been confirmed in Albany, Campbell, Carbon, Converse, Park, Sweetwater, and Weston counties.

In her statement, Smallwood said, “We can all use this as a learning experience about biosecurity when traveling,” and that “when we do take our horses places, they can be exposed to disease without knowing.”

Brus took some exception to that, calling out “the horse community as a whole" for not testing their horses before taking them to fairs, rodeos, and other events throughout the country.

“If you are taking your horse anywhere 

 the fair, across state lines, to a sale 

 you need to be doing a full panel for everything,” she said. “You need to see if your horse has any diseases, sicknesses, or issues before you do anything.”

Brus said she believes the Park County Fairgrounds and other Wyoming venues with horse-related events should implement mandatory bacterial cultures, blood tests, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests before any horses are allowed on the grounds.

If the horse comes back clean, off to the fair. If it doesn’t, the horse can be quarantined at home without the risk of infecting other horses at a high-density event like a fair or rodeo.

“It's the wisest decision, especially in (Park County),” she said. “You have rodeo people coming in and out all summer. It’s 90 days of people in and out consistently. If you’re going anywhere with your horses, more people need to do it.”

, an outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) and EHV-4 was reported in four states. If infected animals aren’t treated, the respiratory illnesses can progress into equine herpes myeloencephalopathy, a serious neurological condition with a 75% mortality rate.

The source of the outbreak was a horse at the World Championship Barrel Racing Finals in Waco, Texas. Around 1,000 horses attended the event.

Like strangles, EHV-1 and EHV-4 can be spread by horse-to-horse contact as well as via shared buckets and people's clothes and equipment.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"text":"Better Safe Than Sorry"}]

Of all the thoughts and emotions Brus had when she heard about the strangles exposure at the Park County Fair, she wasn’t surprised.

“Professionally, I am disappointed in the horse community as a whole,” she said. “Getting horses tested needs to be at the forefront of their minds, and many aren’t doing it.”

Brus doesn’t see the strangles situation at the Park County Fair as an unfortunate accident. Even if the infected horse wasn’t showing symptoms, it clearly had been exposed to strangles at some point.

“The best way to beat this thing is when it hasn’t fully developed in their system,” she said. “If you share a water bucket with a friend, now both your horses have strangles because one of them was a carrier without symptoms. Even if you’re taking your horse to visit a friend’s house, you don’t know if they’ve gotten their horse tested.”

In Brus’ opinion, the lesson from the Park County Fair incident is the consequences of irresponsibility.

If someone’s horse is going to mingle with other horses from around the state, it should have a clean bill of health, even when it isn’t showing symptoms. Brus said that isn’t happening, which is how strangles and other equine diseases spread so far and quickly.

“If you’re smart, you’ll get ahead of it,” she said. “PCRS don’t cost that much. Microbial cultures are two-day, low-cost. When you get your horse tested, it clears everything up.

Brus also shared her concern about upcoming fairs. Several are already underway, and the Wyoming State Fair in Douglas starts Aug. 11.

Could a horse exposed to strangles at the Park County Fair show up and spread the infection at other fairs? Brus said there’s a good chance it could happen, and might already be underway.

“From what I've heard, they're keeping it under wraps because they don't want to panic the community,” she said. “Fairs are a huge thing right now, and with a Park County outbreak, we don't know what state fairs are even going to look like.”

Prevention is the best way to protect horses from strangles, she said. That’s why Brus wishes, and hopes, more horse owners will start regularly testing their horses before taking them anywhere.

“It’s like going to a walk-in clinic for a cold and getting antibiotics early,” she said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Park county fair horse 7 30 26

<title>Worry That Dozens Of Horses Exposed To Highly Infectious Strangles At Park County Fair | Cowboy State Daily</title>

Dozens of horses might have been exposed to strangles, a highly contagious equine disease, at the Park County Fair in Powell. Smallwood Horses announced Tuesday it placed its facility under a two-week quarantine after a horse presented symptoms.

Worry That Dozens Of Horses Exposed To Highly Infectious Strangles At Park County Fair

Headshot of Cowboy State Daily's general assignment reporter, Clair McFarland.

Clair McFarland

Government & Politics

Politics

Nineteen Republican state leaders, including a former Wyoming governor, have endorsed Steve Friess for U.S. House, the candidate’s team told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

Friess is in the final three weeks of a fiery race for the Republican nomination to the House seat Rep. Harriet Hageman is leaving to run for U.S. Senate.

Of the 14 endorsers Cowboy State Daily was able to reach Thursday for interviews, all touted Friess’s merits. A minority of four specifically voiced a desire to see someone beat Secretary of State Chuck Gray, who is one of Friess’s eight GOP opponents.

Former Gov. Jim Geringer said he’s endorsing Friess “because he’s the right guy.”

Geringer also pointed to Gray’s upbringing in California and said, “I don’t see him as being connected and aware enough of national issues to be able to handle what Steve Friess has already done.”

Friess has said that he organized a group of top Washington, D.C., attorneys to craft ready-made executive order proposals for President Donald Trump ahead of his first inauguration in 2017. The Friess family also kick-started Charlie Kirk’s group Turning Point USA and a host of other conservative groups and causes.

Gray was elected to the state Legislature in 2016 and served for six years. He was elected Secretary of State in 2022 and has repeatedly pushed the Legislature for election reform, resulting in the passage of several new election laws.

[{"type":"text","text":"Both men point to pro-life victories."}]

Gray and Friess also face state Senate President Bo Biteman, Casper businessman Reid Rasner, former Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, former legislator Keith Goodenough, singer/actor Richard Dodson, and military veterans David Giralt and Kevin Christensen.

[{"type":"text","text":"The primary election is Aug. 18."}]

“Steve has a lot of skill. ‘Hochma’ is the word in the Old Testament: wisdom,” said former legislator Nathan Winters. 

Winters said that wisdom manifests in Friess’s four children, whom he cast as well-educated and thoughtful.

“As I’ve watched Steve, he’s just a remarkable person to run for that office,” said Winters.

Winters runs a Christian-issues advocacy group, Wyoming Family Alliance. But he said he gives his endorsement in his private capacity, not in connection with any group.

Most of the endorsers matched Winters’ attitude of praise. A minority of four added negative comments about Gray.

“Oh, I mean I’m not going to get into personal attacks,” said former Senate President Tony Ross, a Republican from Cheyenne, when saying why he wants someone to beat Gray. “I mean I think it’s self-evident. Jeez-Louise.”

Former state Rep. Elaine Harvey, a Big Horn County Republican, went further. On the one hand, she praised Friess on a nuanced policy level, saying she agrees with his approaches to public-lands management, health insurance and energy policy.

On the other hand, Harvey said she’s “disgusted” with Gray, in particular for his recurring spats with Gov. Mark Gordon in state board meetings.

[{"type":"text","text":"The other endorsers are:"}]

The four who voiced specific desires to see someone beat Gray were Geringer, Ross, Harvey and Ron Micheli. The rest were silent on that topic, sticking to Friess’s merits.

[{"type":"text","text":"‘Tired Class Of Political 1% Insiders’"}]

Gray in a Thursday text message called the endorsers a “tired class of political 1% insiders.”

“It’s not a surprise that Jackson Hole socialite Steve Friess is receiving the support of the same 1% insiders who want woke data centers and woke wind projects,” wrote Gray.

Not all of Friess’s endorsers have voiced a position on wind farms and data centers. Dockstader was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted against 

giving tax breaks to large data centers in 2010

Gray has come out against data centers, while Friess has said state and county governments – not Congress – should lead data center permitting decisions in ways that protect Wyomingites.

[{"type":"text","text":"Both men tout a pro-traditional-energy stance."}]

“Jackson socialite Steve Friess has rounded up the same tired class of political 1% insiders who have spent years trying to stop the silent majority and who are upset that I’ve been so successful in advancing common sense election integrity measures,” Gray continued.

Bebout rebutted that, saying "I call B.S." Bebout said he dislikes wind farms insofar as they're associated with government subsidies; and he approves of much of Gray's advocacy for election reform. He said he disapproves of Gray's approach to state land boards, where, Bebout said, he'd "try to make a stand or try to be, just ridiculous. And he doesn't fit." 

Gray alleged a “silent majority of Wyoming will see through this attempt by the insiders, with their media allies at Cowboy State Daily – which is owned by Friess allies in Jackson – to get behind a Jackson based insider candidate.”

Gray asserted that Friess is trying to “manufacture” momentum but “isn’t even in 2nd place in this race.”

[{"type":"text","text":"Then Give The Jackson Money Back, Says Friess"}]

[{"type":"text","text":"Friess countered in his own interview."}]

“Now isn’t Chuck the insider, with the new GOP trying to put the thumb on the scale for him?” he asked.

One of Gray’s recent slogans has been for people not to “let Jackson buy” the race.

Friess had the biggest war chest as of July 1 with $2.5 million, followed by Rasner at $2 million and Gray at nearly $1.4 million. Each of those three has loaned himself more than $1 million.

“I’m curious then, if he’s interested in returning the checks he’s received from donors in Jackson Hole,” said Friess. “If Jackson money is a bad thing.”

Donations from Jackson residents to Gray’s campaign committee as of July 1 totaled $59,000, or just over a quarter of his individual contributions, according to the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC).

[{"type":"text","text":"But Not Tom Lubnau"}]

Former House Speaker and Cowboy State Daily columnist Tom Lubnau didn’t join the list of Friess endorsers.

He speculated that for an endorser list that big to emerge suddenly, someone is purposefully coordinating endorsements for Friess.

Lubnau theorized that Friess is trying to benefit from an “Anyone-but-Chuck” mantra that’s surfaced within the past couple weeks among some Wyomingites.

U.S. House candidate Steve Friess received 19 endorsements Thursday by Republican lawmakers, former legislators, energy industry leaders and Gov. Jim Geringer. Chuck Gray called them "a tired class of political 1% insiders" who support "woke wind projects."

Zavier Antonio James, 18