Hoyer sentenced to 2-4 years

Joshua Hoyer was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 2-4 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance with intent. In August, he agreed to plead guilty to the charge in exchange for dismissal of charges of possession of methamphetamine and delivery. The State of Wyoming, as part of the agreement, would not argue for a sentence of more than 5-8 years.

The charge to which Hoyer pled stems from a Dec. 4, 2016, incident during which he was contacted by Autumn Boyle, who asked him to obtain the drug. Attorney Marcia Bean argued Hoyer has a history of serious criminal charges and the 5-8 year sentence would be appropriate. She also noted Hoyer, while in jail, assaulted another inmate and broke his jaw.

Attorney Joe Hampton argued for a sentence of 1-3 years, noting Hoyer was at the bottom of a list of contact for methamphetamine, and law enforcement hadn’t been targeting him but got him anyway. Hampton further pointed out Hoyer was a middle man in this incident and he was used. Hampton also noted Hoyer is a good person with an integrity about him, despite his criminal history, and in the right environment he could be a successful member of society.

Hoyer apologized for his actions to his family and the community, and said he knows he made a bad decision and has come to understand he needs structure and treatment.

Judge Robert Skar pointed out Hoyer has a number of years involved with drugs, meth being the biggest, and he was concerned that Hoyer’s prior history shows he’s still in that business. Though Hoyer has a long history, Skar noted he doesn’t have a lot of convictions related to drug offenses.