Trial begins in endangerment case

Trial got underway Monday afternoon in a case against Christopher Decker, who is charged with three counts of child endangerment — exposure to methamphetamine — and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

The charges are from a July 1, 2017 incident, after a vehicle Decker was driving was stopped for not having illumination on its rear license plate. Three juveniles were later located in the vehicle.

A passenger in the vehicle, Holly Herrera, was recently found guilty on similar charges.

During opening arguments prosecuting attorney, Marcia Bean, said the jury would hear, among others, testimony of Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper (WHP) Regina Schulmeister, who conducted the stop of the vehicle after noticing the rear plate was not illuminated, an indicator the vehicle might actually be stolen.

The jury, Bean said, would also hear of Schulmeister’s interaction with the vehicle occupants, particularly Decker, who when asked for his license admitted it was suspended, though the trooper recognized him from a previous traffic stop.

Bean said Schulmeister would also testify to Decker’s moving around in his seat quite a bit, vehicle identification documents not being immediately produced and complications in identifying who else was in the vehicle.

Bean said Schulmeister would further testify to doing an inventory of the vehicle, as part of WHP procedure, and in that inventory a baggy with a white, powdery substance was located near the driver’s seat. The substance, Bean said, would later test presumptive positive for meth.

In his opening argument defense attorney Travis Smith informed the jury that, as part of the evidence, they would be viewing video from the stop. He noted that they would also be informed Schulmeister’s microphone on her uniform was not working.

Though Smith said the defense was not contesting Decker was driving the vehicle or that the substance found tested positive for meth, the attorney presented the argument that the vehicle actually belonged to Herrera, who is Decker’s sister.

Smith also argued that evidence will show the substance was located after Decker was outside the vehicle, while there are two other adults in the vehicle — Herrera and another passenger, Derek Fyffe. After the jury had seen all the evidence and the video, and heard all of the testimony, Smith expected that they would return a verdict of not guilty.