News briefs from around the state

From Wyoming News Exchange newspapers

Man arrested for sixth DUI one month into probation for fifth DUI could get up to 7 years

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who pleaded guilty to his sixth DUI offense could face six to seven years in prison.

Jude Armijo, 32, reached a plea deal where he’ll plead guilty to felony DUI, and the state will recommend a six-to seven-year prison sentence to run concurrent to a five-year sentence for violating his probation.

At the time of his sixth DUI, Armijo was just one month into a five-year probation that he’d been sentenced to following his fifth DUI.

On the morning of July 28, police went to the parking lot between Dairy Queen and Las Margaritas for a red Hyundai that was stopped in the middle of the roadway. A man, later identified as Armijo, was passed out in the driver’s seat. He had his seatbelt on, and the engine was running. There was an open container of Modelo in a cup holder.

Officers tried knocking on the window and moving the car back and forth to get Armijo’s attention but he did not wake up. An officer opened the door and was eventually able to get him to wake up. He smelled of alcohol and spoke in very slow, slurred speech. He admitted to drinking three six-packs of beer and said he was not safe to drive, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

At the time of this arrest, Armijo had five DUI convictions, including two in 2019 in Big Horn County, Montana; one in October 2020 in Yellowstone County, Montana; one in July 2021 in Johnson County; and one in June 2024 in Campbell County.

For the June conviction, Armijo had been sentenced to five to seven years, suspended for five years of supervised probation.

This story was published on November 19, 2024.

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Fearnow found not guilty

SHERIDAN (WNE) — After a four-day trial and nearly four hours of deliberation, a jury found Kyle Fearnow not guilty of strangulation of a household member and not guilty of domestic battery.

Strangulation of a household member could have been a felony charge with a sentence of imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of not more than $10,000 or both. Domestic battery, a misdemeanor, is punishable by imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than $750 or both.

State attorney Christopher LaRosa and defense attorney Christina Cherni made their closing arguments in the 4th Judicial District Court Friday morning.

Both reviewed audio recordings of the 911 phone calls made on April 29, phone call recordings between Fearnow and the victim while he was incarcerated and the injury photos shown in court.

LaRosa emphasized the images of the victim that revealed her injuries from the evening of April 29, while Cherni stressed that Fearnow was the one who called police.

She asked the jury, if he was guilty of strangulation and battery, why would he be the one to call the cops?

According to the victim, on the evening of April 29, the two fought because she changed her relationship status on Facebook from “dating” to “single.” Fearnow became angry very quickly and the situation escalated, she said. Fearnow was accused of strangling her by the throat.

According to Fearnow, the victim accused him of talking to other women. The couple argued, and Fearnow said the victim threatened to kill him with a kitchen knife. He wrestled her to the ground and punched her until she dropped the knife. Then he left the apartment and called 911, Fearnow said.

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Lummis slams BLM’s Greater sage-grouse plan

CHEYENNE (WNE) — On Friday, Senate Western Caucus Chair Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Congressional Western Caucus Chair Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., released a statement after the Bureau of Land Management released its final Greater Sage-Grouse Rangewide Planning Resource Management Plan.

“This Greater sage-grouse plan will have wide-reaching impacts on farmers, ranchers and landowners across the West whose livelihoods depend on responsible management of federal lands,” Lummis said, according to a caucus news release. “Instead of trusting states like Wyoming that have proven expertise in sage-grouse management, the Biden-Harris administration is making a last-ditch effort to exert more control over the West. I am confident the Trump administration will begin work on day one to correct the wrongdoings of this administration and properly restore the role of states in managing their own wildlife populations.”

“The Biden Administration is firing another salvo in their war against public lands across the west,” said Newhouse.

This plan will impact sage-grouse habitats in Wyoming, California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

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Man who stole hundreds of packages from UPS to plead guilty

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who stole hundreds of packages from a UPS facility because it made him “feel alive” has reached a plea deal.

In a plea agreement, Larry Munday, 53, will plead guilty to felony theft, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ketamine, and the state will drop a charge of cultivating marijuana.

The state also will recommend Munday serve a five- to seven-year prison sentence for the theft charge, and two- to three-year sentences for the ketamine and gun charges, all to run concurrent to each other.

On June 12, an investigator with the sheriff’s office spoke with the local UPS manager, who said that more than 100 packages had gone missing from the facility in the past two weeks. He said the missing packages all had been placed on a package car for overnight storage.

In total, 109 packages had gone missing from UPS since June 3.

The packages went missing at night, and the manager suspected a contract employee who worked evenings of stealing them.

Cameras were set up on the package car and around UPS property. As packages continued to go missing, the cameras captured Munday, a contract cleaner, going through packages on several occasions and subsequently putting white trash bags into his pickup.

Deputies got a search warrant for Munday’s home, where they found UPS bags and packages.

He told deputies that he began stealing packages in December 2023. A package had fallen off of a UPS truck, and he kept it. This was during the Christmas season. He said he didn’t have any friends or family he spent time with and stealing the package made him feel like someone had given it to him, according to court documents.

Things “spiraled” from there, he told investigators, and he started stealing more frequently. When asked how many packages he’d stolen, he estimated it’d been more than 150 in the last two weeks, according to court documents.