CASPER, Wyo. — The following are arraignments, judgments, and sentences in criminal cases heard in Natrona County District Court, along with links to additional case coverage.
This is not a complete log; it is based on hearings attended by Oil City News, filings provided by the clerk of district court, and information provided by the district attorney’s office. Misdemeanor offenses resulting from the same circumstances as a felony charge are added to the case and heard in district court.
Negotiated dispositions and plea agreements reached between the state and defense counsel generally do not bind the court at sentencing. Depending on the type of agreement, the defendant may or may not be able to withdraw a guilty plea if the court imposes a harsher penalty than recommended.
Most agreements include a cold plea provision, which means that if the defendant violates any bond condition or faces new charges, the state can argue for any sentence allowed by statute. In some agreements, the state agrees to “cap” the amount of time it requests the court impose at sentencing, while the defense may argue for less.
Sentences are rendered for each count. Oil City News has reported the effective sentence.
Some sentences include additional terms like intensive supervised probation (ISP), placement in an adult community correctional facility (ACC), or Adult Drug Court. Many defendants are clinically evaluated for the severity of their addictive tendencies, and the results may qualify them for placement in the Wyoming Department of Corrections’ Intensive Treatment Unit (ITU).
Defendants under the age of 25 who are facing their first felony case may be eligible for the Youthful Offender Treatment Program (YOTP), which, if completed, will qualify them for a sentence review. Sentence reduction is not guaranteed.
Sentences:
- James Wayne Sack – DUI with Serious Bodily Injury
- Three to six years imposed
- Cold plea provision invoked
- Benjamin Wentz – Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine): Third or Subsequent upon Conviction
- Three to four years suspended, three years supervised probation
- Christine Allemand – Possession of Methamphetamine: Felony Weight
- Two to four years suspended, three years supervised probation
- Grace Ashley Coleman – Child Endangerment with Methamphetamine (6/42/23)
- Two to four years suspended
- 339 days served
- Brendan Kyle Sturman – Second-Degree Sexual Abuse of a Minor
- Nine to 12 years imposed
- James Earl Severson – Theft: Fifth or Subsequent, Probation Revocation (Theft: Fifth or Subsequent)
- Three to six years imposed
Guilty Pleas: Arraignments and Changes-of-Plea
- Rylan Sjostrom – Possession of Fentanyl: Felony Weight, Conspiracy to Deliver Fentanyl
- Plea agreement: Eight-year cap
- Kyle Phillip Knight – Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine): Third or Subsequent upon Conviction, Duty upon Collision: Misdemeanor
- Plea agreement: Two to four years suspended, three years supervised probation
- Zachary Woods – Aggravated Assault and Battery
- Plea agreement: Five-year cap
- Austin Paul Workman – Second-Degree Sexual Abuse of a Minor
- Plea agreement: Nine to 12 years imposed
- Shaelynn Marie Lacey – Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Deliver
- Plea agreement: Eight-year cap
- Shadow Earnest Ray – Possession of Methamphetamine: Felony Weight, Driving Under Suspension
- Two to four years suspended, three years supervised probation
- James Earl Severson – Aggravated Assault and Battery
- Cold plea
- John Byrum Dierenfelt – Third-Degree Sexual Abuse of a Minor x2
- Cold plea (30 years max)
- Plea information obtained from minute order on record
Arraignment – Not Guilty Pleas:
- Kimberlee Jean Gomez – Child Abuse: Physical Injury
Failure to Appear
- James Arthur Perea – Change-of-Plea (Possession of a Controlled Substance: Methamphetamine: Third or Subsequent upon Conviction)
- Bench warrant issued
- Timothy Alan Lee – Possession of a Controlled Substance: Methamphetamine: Third or Subsequent upon Conviction
- Missed June sentencing hearing, notice to invoke cold plea after new charges
- Bench warrant issued
Remanded (Felony Charges dismissed and misdemeanors sent back to Circuit Court)
- Daniel William Agin – Reckless Endangerment Charge sent to circuit court
- Aggravated Assault and Battery charge dismissed
