Moorcroft man arrested after domestic altercation

During the early morning hours of April 17, 2020 a 41-year-old as-yet-unidentified male residing in Moorcroft was allegedly involved in a domestic assault.

Officer Jory Tadlock responded to a call involving a domestic altercation. The individual, according to Moorcroft Chief of Police Doug “Red” Lundborg, was behaving in a belligerent manner and had attacked a female also at the residence described as his “girlfriend”.

As the woman attempted to leave the domicile in her vehicle, the male allegedly rammed her pickup into a utility pole with his 2009 white Toyota Tacoma. She later showed “markings” to the officer which were photographed, but had no other apparent injuries requiring medical attention.

Upon arriving on scene, Tadlock attempted to calm the perpetrator, who had again left his vehicle, without success. The individual allegedly reentered the Tacoma and escaped the scene. Tadlock gave chase for a short time, but was unable to advance on the suspect, who had gained a considerable head start.

With the male heading west into Campbell County, Tadlock informed Campbell County Sheriff’s dispatch as well as Wyoming Highway Patrol and a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) was initiated at 6:22 a.m.

According to Campbell County Undersheriff Quentin Reynolds, deputies were alerted to a “ping” from the suspect’s cell phone in the area of Trapper Lane, in Gillette at 8:33 a.m. and were warned that the suspect was possibly armed with a hand gun and had made threats to engage in a “gun fight” with law enforcement if they attempted to arrest him.

Deputies patrolled the area, locating the vehicle in the driveway of an undisclosed residence on Coaltrain Road at 9:12 a.m., and established a perimeter around the home with the assistance of Highway Patrol. The perpetrator exited the residence and, according to Reynolds, “appeared to be scouting” officers’ positions along the boundary.

Making contact via suspect’s cell phone, deputies attempted to peacefully instigate surrender, however the individual allegedly refused to cooperate and continued to threaten violence if any attempt was made to arrest him, including ramming officers with his pickup.

The individual eventually left the residence in the Tacoma, driving west on Coaltrain toward the perimeter, where a spike strip had been previously deployed. Driving over the strip, the man allegedly traveled beyond the perimeter with little apparent effect due to the aggressive tread of the tires on the vehicle.

Reynolds recounted that, further west on Coaltrain, the suspect intentionally positioned his pickup in a head-on collision course with a responding deputy who, consequently, “had to aggressively maneuver his automobile to avoid being struck head on”.

The individual continued to lead deputies and Highway Patrol on a chase north along Fairview Road reaching speeds of approximately 90 miles per hour. He then exited Fairview east across country through a pasture between Fairview and Timbercreek Roads, allegedly losing control of the Tacoma.

The vehicle rolled, injuring the driver, who was extricated from the pickup and transported to Campbell County Memorial Hospital.

Due to injuries incurred from rolling his vehicle, the perpetrator has not been arrested as of the time of this report.

Several felony charges are pending the suspect’s recovery in Crook and Campbell Counties, including the initial aggravated assault and protection order violation.