Court hearings on probation violations

by Mark Dykes

Monday in Hot Springs District Court, two subjects had hearings regarding probation violations.

John Baker’s probation was revoked, so he will face three to four years in prison.

Baker received the sentence in November. However, it was suspended on a split sentence, resulting instead in a short jail sentence, followed by three years of supervised probation. The sentence was on a charge of felony endangering a child. Additionally, Baker was sentenced to 180 days each for three misdemeanor possession charges related to meth, marijuana and psylocibin in pill form. Those jail terms were ordered served concurrently with each other, and with the one-year sentence on the felony charge.

The charges stem from a May 28 incident, during which a vehicle which Baker was in was pulled over for a crack that impeded the driver’s view. A later search of the vehicle revealed a smoking pipe with marijuana residue, syringes, a baggy with a crystalline substance identified as meth and a container with some loose plant material and three capsules with brown plant material identified as mushrooms.

Baker’s violations of his probation include leaving a treatment program on April 15, as well as absconding from supervision in April. He was also found to have consumed marijuana on Feb. 14.

Rikki Dietrich admitted to violating her probation, and a sentencing in her case will be scheduled for a later date.

In September of 2013 Dietrich was sentenced to five years supervised probation on charges of child endangerment and possession of methamphetamine. The charges followed an Oct. 27, 2012 accident in which Dietrich’s six-month-old son, Jacee, was killed and Dietrich was transported to the Wyoming Medical Center for treatment.

In interviews following the accident, Dietrich stated she and her sister had gone to Riverton to get marijuana. Dietrich said she didn’t recall using meth, but knew she must’ve because she knew it was in her system.

Dietrich recalled driving back from Riverton and allowing her sister to drive so she could care for her son, who was sick. She stated she knew her sister was high, and she had taken her son out of his car seat because he was vomiting.

According to the motion to revoke her probation, Dietrich’s supervision was transferred to Kentucky on or about April 28, 2016. While she was there she was charged with prostitution, and admitted to consuming marijuana and meth.

A hearing regarding the revocation of Autumn Boyle’s probation was scheduled for Monday, though it was postponed to allow her to attend treatment.

In January, Boyle was sentenced to a period of two to four years at the Wyoming Women’s Center. However, that sentence was suspended for a period of four years supervised probation. On Oct. 4, she pleaded guilty to endangering a child — exposure to meth — and driving under the influence.

On the DUI charge, Boyle was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $500; that sentenced was also suspended.

The charges stem from the same May 28 incident as Baker; Boyle was driving the vehicle.

The motion to revoke her probation alleges her urine tested positive for meth on Feb. 23, and she admitted to using on Feb. 21. She also allegedly failed to enroll in a residential treatment program.