News briefs from around Wyoming

Unemployment falls as people leave work force

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Research and Planning Section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported Monday that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 4.5% in September to 4.1% in October. 

The recent decreases in Wyoming’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate have been largely the result of unemployed individuals leaving the labor force. From October 2020 to October 2021, the number of unemployed people in Wyoming decreased by an estimated 3,955 individuals. Estimates suggest that just over one-third of those people (1,331 individuals) had found jobs and gone to work, while nearly two-thirds (2,624 individuals) had stopped looking for work and dropped out of the labor force. 

From September to October, unemployment rates fell in most counties. The largest decreases occurred in Niobrara (down from 2.4% to 1.9%), Sublette (down from 3.4% to 3.0%), Natrona (down from 3.7% to 3.3%), Hot Springs (down from 2.4% to 2.0%) and Campbell (down from 3.3% to 2.9%) counties. From October 2020 to October 2021, jobless rates decreased in every county. Unemployment rates were unusually high in October 2020 because of the pandemic. The largest decreases were seen in Natrona (down from 6.6% to 3.3%), Converse (down from 5.5% to 2.5%), Campbell (down from 5.9% to 2.9%) and Sweetwater (down from 5.4% to 3.1%) counties. 

Natrona County had the highest unemployment rate in October at 3.3%.

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Man who tried to burn down house twice sentenced

DOUGLAS (WNE) — A Douglas man found guilty of first degree arson for twice trying to burn down another man’s house has been sentenced to 8-12 years in prison, but District Judge Scott Peasley then used the state’s split sentencing statute to suspend the prison term and instead send Sebastian M. Esquibel, 30, to 10 months in the county jail followed by three years probation.

In October, a jury found Esquibel guilty of one felony count of first degree arson. He had been charged with two counts of arson and faced up to 20 years in prison on each count from two incidents a day apart in mid-February 2020. Both incidents occurred at the same South 5th Street home in Douglas, and the Douglas police affidavit states Esquibel admitted to having been “intimately involved with the victim.”

According to police, someone had thrown a brick through a front window of the home and powered a flammable accelerant onto the house and lit it. The fire scorched the house.

The following day, someone broke out another window and poured accelerant into the home but cut themselves and left blood at the scene. The DNA in the blood matched Esquibel’s.

Peasley, in his sentencing order, gave Esquibel credit of 150 days in jail for time served and ordered intensive supervised probation with additional conditions and fines, restitution and assessments totaling $2,463.

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Man accused of shoplifting from store he crashed into

RIVERTON (WNE) — A man who was banned from Walmart in Riverton after crashing a stolen car into the building nine years ago now is being charged with burglary from the same business.

Donovan James Shakespeare, 27, now faces one felony burglary charge from Oct. 17, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines; one misdemeanor theft charge dating back to March 15, punishable by no more than six months and $750 in fines; and two separate counts of criminal trespass, each punishable by up to six months in jail and $750 in fines. 

According to court documents, on Oct. 17 at about 2:11 p.m., Riverton Police Department officer Kingston Cole responded to reports of shoplifting at Walmart. A security employee had escorted Donovan Shakespeare and Charnele Jenkins to his office, along with two children believed to be theirs –– a 4-year-old and a 7-year-old. 

The employee said he’d seen Jenkins and Shakespeare stuffing household items into their pants, then trying to “walk out the door” with additional items in their cart without paying. The employee said he stopped them and escorted him to his office without incident. 

Jenkins also had been banned from the store. 

Charging documents for Jenkins were not available to The Ranger as of press time. 

When Cole asked the suspects if they’d stolen the merchandise, both said they had participated in the act, according to court documents. RPD Dispatch informed Cole that both had active and confirmed arrest warrants from prior thefts at Walmart.

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After arrest in Shoshoni, murder suspect to be returned to Mississippi

RIVERTON (WNE) — A murder suspect arrested in Shoshoni was eager Wednesday morning to get back to Mississippi. 

Kingduron Baku Pyles, 19, of Columbus, Mississippi, appeared under the newly appointed Lander Circuit Court Judge Jefferson Coombs on Wednesday to face an extradition order that would send him back to the state where his alleged victim was found deceased. 

According to a report in the Columbus (Miss.) Dispatch, officers found Shad Reese, 23, on Nov. 1, shot dead in the front seat of a vehicle. One shell casing was found on scene. 

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is now responsible for arranging Pyles’ transport back to Mississippi. 

Pyles was apprehended outside a motel in Shoshoni on Saturday, when Shoshoni Police Department Chief Chris Konija was summoned to an alleged battery in which Pyles was reported to have attacked a man and smashed his cell phone. The  reported victim of the attack told Konija that Pyles was on the run for murder from Mississippi, which the chief confirmed through social media. 

“Next thing you know, the guy’s running,” Konija later told The Ranger. 

Following a brief pursuit, the man was detained and confirmed to be Pyles. 

Konija is following up with Mississippi law enforcement to ascertain whether Pyles had any murder evidence with or near him at the time of his arrest.  Konija said there was no firearm discovered, nor was Pyles seen with one at any time.  Pyles had been in Shoshoni for about six days working as a manual laborer. 

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Gunwerks sues Forward Cody

CODY (WNE) — A civil lawsuit was filed in Park County District Court Monday by local firearms manufacturer Gunwerks, alleging Forward Cody failed to follow through on a contractual agreement to provide the kind of facility they had agreed upon. 

Gunwerks accuses Forward Cody of breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good and fair dealing. No amount of monetary relief has been specified at this time. 

The 43,396-square-foot building, located at 201 Blackburn Ave., does exist and serves Gunwerks today, but not to the quality and specifications CEO Aaron Davidson said he expected when he entered into the contract with Forward Cody and the State of Wyoming. 

James Klessens, CEO of Forward Cody, had no comment on the lawsuit when reached by phone on Wednesday morning and said it was the first time he had been informed about its existence.

Davidson said the company has upheld its end of the bargain, investing $750,000 of its own funds in the facility and employing 75 people.

Under the agreement, Forward Cody was in charge of retaining and hiring the appropriate design and construction professionals for the project, and executing all related contracts to Gunwerks’ desire. 

Davidson said his company has followed through on the promise of employment, in addition to supporting the tax base and buying equipment for the facility. 

Davidson said there are “millions of dollars” of shortcomings in the building’s construction, “riddled with defects and errors,” according to the court filing. He said specifically, there are major issues with the sheetrock, concrete, metal siding and the site’s lack of the necessary design to drain water properly.

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Man who threatened courthouse shooting given deferred sentence

SUNDANCE (WNE) — Crook County resident John Roscoe has been given a deferred sentence following an incident last October in which he was apprehended at home before he could act on his alleged plan to shoot an employee within the Crook County Courthouse. 

Sheriff’s Office deputies went to his home after receiving a warning call from a member of the public. The call came in at around 3:40 p.m. on October 29 that Roscoe was “upset and had a gun,” according to incident reports from the Sheriff’s Office. 

Before long, law enforcement had reason to believe Roscoe was targeting a specific person within the courthouse. 

The incident report states that three deputies were dispatched to Roscoe’s property. The caller was contacted again at 4:20 p.m. and reported that Roscoe had a pistol and said he was going to the courthouse. 

One witness stated that Roscoe had received a letter from the courthouse. Upon reading the letter, Roscoe allegedly became angry and stated he was going to the courthouse to shoot someone. With the help of the second witness, who spoke with Roscoe on the phone, deputies were able to ascertain that Roscoe was located in his barn. He eventually agreed to surrender to the deputies. 

The court accepted a no contest plea from Roscoe on June 14 on one felony count of possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent. 

His sentence was deferred by Judge Stuart S. Healy III, pending successful completion of 18 months of supervised probation, to include an anger management evaluation and twice-yearly written reports of his progress.

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Sheridan band director to represent Wyoming in Rose Parade

SHERIDAN (WNE) — Chad Rose, director of bands at Sheridan High School, has been selected to represent the state of Wyoming in the Band Directors Marching Band in the upcoming Pasadena Tournament of Roses® Rose Parade Jan. 1, 2022.

The Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, the sponsoring organization behind the project, was created to recognize and carry on the work of the late Mike Sewell, who dedicated his life to the school and community music programs in Pickerington, Ohio,  and the central Ohio area for more than 38 years.

The parade entry will convey the theme, “America’s Band Directors: We teach music. We teach life.”

Organizers of the parade said the dedication and accomplishments of band directors are well known to students, parents and school teachers and administrators. No matter where they teach and work — public and private schools, colleges and universities, the military, community bands — dedicated music educators and leaders work long hours to not only teach and direct music, but to teach life itself.

Nationally-known band director Jon Waters will direct the Band Directors Marching Band, the marching configurations and the music for the New Year’s Day 5.5-mile Rose Parade route. 

NEWS BRIEFS for Friday, Nov. 26, 2021

From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers

Man gets 35-40 years for mother’s murder

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man who killed his mother in May 2019 received more than three decades in prison in Laramie County District Court. 

Laramie County District Judge Catherine Rogers sentenced James Brian Wallace on Oct. 13 to 35 to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder. Wallace previously pleaded no contest to the charge as part of a plea agreement. 

At about 7:30 a.m. May 10, 2019, Laramie County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call of an assault with a weapon. Wallace’s brother had reported that Wallace was “high on meth and freaking out” and had hit his mother with a hammer, according to court documents. 

Deputies found the body of Carol Wallace, 80, lying face down in the basement of the residence. James Wallace’s brother told deputies that James lived with Carol, and that when he went to pick Carol up just before 7:30 that morning, he saw James pacing around the main floor of the house, according to court documents.  James eventually told his brother that their mother was in the basement. 

James’ brother said James had a drug problem, and that meth was his drug of choice. The Laramie County coroner later discovered Carol had been shot once in the temple area, had blunt force trauma to the left forehead area, a six to eight-inch laceration to her left upper chest and multiple large bruises all over her body.

 Law enforcement found several weapons in the house and in James’ car, including a hammer and knife that had blood on them. Blood was found throughout the house and on multiple clothing items belonging to James. 

No drugs were found during the search of the house, according to court documents.

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RER coming to Upton

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Rare Element Resources, or RER, will open its test facility in Upton, where it will process elements from RER’s Bearlodge mine located 12 miles from Sundance.

RER is an energy company  specializing in mining rare earth elements to provide them to technology companies. 

According to George Byers, vice president of RER, the search for a test facility site started about 10 years ago.

“The industrial park (in Upton) was a good choice because No. 1, you guys all wanted it,” Byers said. “Upton . . . has got the attributes you need. You got the rail, you’ve got the highway. you’ve got natural gas, you’ve got power.”

The test facility will be small enough to “fit in a garage,”  Byers said. 

Construction of the test facility is expected to take place in 2022 or 2023, and it will operate from 2023 to 2024.

The test facility will be responsible for refining several rare earth oxides. The most valuable oxide to come out of the plant will be neodymium praseodymium oxide, which is used to produce high-strength magnets for various types of technology, including cell phones. To produce this, the test facility must separate lanthanum, cerium and thorium.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, the minority leader in the Wyoming Senate, supports bringing the rare element industry to Wyoming.

Rothfuss said that he hopes Wyoming can use the thorium to give it a stake in the next generation of nuclear reactors. He also praised the low environmental impact the Bearlodge mine will have.

The U.S. Department of Energy has given RER $22 million, and RER is responsible for raising the other $22 million from investors. RER is offering shareholders the ability to buy stock for 0.24 cents a share until Dec. 8.

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HGTV series to feature Buffalo

BUFFALO (WNE) — Buffalo is set to add another TV credit to its resume. In 2022, the city will be featured on the new HGTV makeover series “Home Town Kickstart.” 

“Home Town Kickstart” is a spinoff of two other HGTV series - “Home Town” and “Home Town Takeover” - both starring Ben and Erin Napier.

“Home Town,” a show about the Napiers’ renovations of homes in their hometown of Laurel, Mississippi, began in 2016. The new show will feature the hosts of other HGTV shows, including the Napiers, who will visit six “quintessential small towns” and give them “a major boost to re-energize their revitalization efforts and realize a much-needed fresh start,” according to a press release from HGTV. 

Within each community, the show will select a public space, a small business and the home of a “local hero” to remodel.

The show is set to debut this spring.

Mayor Shane Schrader said that HGTV producers recently contacted the city to discuss what public spaces could be updated, and the city’s ice rink came up as a possibility.

The identities of the local hero and the small business that will be involved in the show have not been announced.

Schrader said he thinks the show will be a boon for tourism in the area as it brings the city of Buffalo to a worldwide audience.

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Counterfeit bills reported in Worland area

WORLAND (WNE) — The Worland Police Department and Washakie County Sheriff’s Office have received reports of counterfeit U.S. currency that has recently been circulating through local businesses.

The denominations have varied from $5-$100 bills.

Law enforcement is asking businesses to please pay attention to all currency when receiving it.

In most cases the counterfeit bills have the writing saying, “For Motion Picture Use Only.”

Law enforcement officials have also been advised that a local bank recently discovered a counterfeit $100 bill that appeared to be very similar to a legitimate $100 bill.

Residents who come in possession of any counterfeit currency are encouraged to immediately contact law enforcement at (307) 347-4253.

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Norovirus outbreak detected in Wyoming

SUNDANCE (WNE) — Had an unsettled stomach recently? You’re not alone, according to the Wyoming Department of Health. 

Numerous reports of illnesses in Wyoming appear to be related to a norovirus outbreak, which causes symptoms including nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, fatigue and dehydration. Though other illnesses such as E.coli bacterial contamination can cause similar symptoms, norovirus is the most common culprit. 

“Stomach flu” or “food poisoning”, as norovirus is commonly referred to, is spread through contaminated food and beverages, or when people touch contaminated surfaces or have close contact with someone who is already sick. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), norovirus spreads easily and quickly and outbreaks are most common between November and April. 

The contamination that spreads norovirus can be invisible to the naked eye. 

Symptoms of norovirus generally appear between 12 and 48 hours after exposure and can last between one and three days. They typically go away without causing long-term problems. However, dehydration can cause the illness to become more severe and may require the assistance of a medical professional. 

The WDH recommends frequent hand washing to help prevent illness – especially after using the restroom, changing diapers or before eating and preparing food – as well as staying home if ill; minimizing contact with other persons; thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of vomiting or diarrhea with one cup of household bleach per gallon of water; immediately washing contaminated clothing or linens after an episode of illness; flushing or discarding any feces or vomit in the toilet and keeping the surrounding area clean.

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