CASPER, Wyo. — Two Gillette teenagers were arrested and charged last weekend following an alleged crime spree in Casper that included car and firearm thefts, as well as a residential burglary.
According to the Casper police report, Gillette police believe the juveniles are both involved in several vehicle thefts and auto burglaries in the area.
Blaine Nelson, Natrona County’s chief deputy district attorney, told the circuit court judge during the suspects’ initial appearances on Monday that investigators believe they arrived in Casper in a stolen vehicle.
According to the report, a Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputy observed a black Ford and a white BMW speeding, passing each other and weaving through the lanes on State Highway 258, which runs along Casper’s south side.
Police lost sight of the black Ford, which allegedly drove over 110 mph through a residential neighborhood. The deputy stayed with the white BMW, which eventually jumped a curb and became disabled in a field. Before being apprehended by police, the two suspects reportedly fled about 250 feet.
Everett Kale Forbes, 16, was identified as the driver and charged as an adult. He was wearing a blue sweatshirt. District Attorney Dan Itzen confirmed Friday that the passenger is being charged as a juvenile.
The disabled BMW belonged to someone in east Casper who had not given anyone permission to take it but had left the keys in the center console, according to the report. Four firearms were retrieved from the vehicle. Nelson said at least two were stolen, with one having the serial number obliterated.
One of the guns was reported stolen later that evening by a man in Paradise Valley, a subdivision on Casper’s western outskirts.
Security footage from the area was captured around 2:30 a.m. Sunday’s footage reportedly showed two cars driving slowly down the street while three people on foot checked door handles and returned items to the trolling cars.
Casper police said Monday that they believe at least a dozen burglaries occurred between 7 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday. They asked people to check security cameras for suspicious activity such as checking door handles, prowling near driveways, and rummaging through vehicles.
Around 9:30 p.m. the night before, reports surfaced of three individuals in east Casper checking door handles and gaining access to some vehicles.
Officers searched the area but were unable to locate anyone. About 40 minutes later, one man in the area reported that his wallet and pistol had been stolen from his Hummer. The pistol was eventually recovered from the BMW.
At 3 a.m., a caller reported seeing two suspicious men wearing masks in the parking lot of the west-side Walmart. Surveillance footage later confirmed that the males, one in a red sweatshirt and one in blue, arrived in a white Mazda.
A white BMW and a black Ford Taurus followed them. According to the report, the man in the blue sweatshirt got into the BMW, while the man in red got into the Ford.
Police contacted the registered owner of a white Mazda that had been abandoned at Walmart. She lived in Vista West, a subdivision west of Mills. While on the phone with police, she looked out her window and confirmed that the white Mazda had vanished, and she had not given anyone permission to take it.
Less than an hour later, at 3:40 a.m., a man at the Fox Hill Apartments in east Casper reported waking up to a loud banging on his front door and coming out to find it wide open, with pieces of the frame scattered about.
Security footage from a neighbor in the hallway captured three males in masks wearing the same sweatshirts (red, blue, and black) as previously reported by witnesses. The report stated that one of them covered the camera while the door was kicked in.
The suspect in the red sweatshirt reportedly entered after kicking in the door, but quickly exited “as if realizing they had the wrong apartment or something in the apartment startled them,” CPD Detective Tiffany Elhart wrote in the report.
A short time later, the deputy saw the Ford and BMW on Outer Drive. Oil City News will follow up to see if any more suspects have been identified or arrested.
Forbes was charged Monday with:
Conspiracy to commit theft
Theft of a white Mazda
Theft of a BMW
Aggravated burglary, enhanced due to the alleged theft of a firearm
Burglary of an apartment
Fleeing/eluding police
Forbes identified himself as a Gillette resident who was taking classes at a community college.
The bond was set at $100,000 cash only. He and his co-defendant are presumed innocent until proven or pleaded guilty.
