State Briefs

No death penalty in Riverton shooting deathz

RIVERTON (WNE) — The state will not seek the death penalty against Mario M. Mills, the Riverton man accused of killing his best friend with a gunshot to the head on March 26.

Fremont County Attorney Patrick LeBrun announced during Mills’s arraignment Thursday afternoon that he would not pursue the fatal sentence.

The possibility of life in prison still lingers, as Mills, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Trevor Bartlett, who also was 37.

“I appreciate Mr. LeBrun removing the possibility of death today, so we don’t have to think about that anymore,” said Mills’s defense attorney, Rob Oldham, of Casper.

Mills pleaded “not guilty” at that same hearing.

Fremont County Coroner Mark Stratmoen determined Bartlett’s manner of death was homicide, and that the cause of death was gunshot wound to the head.

Time of death was marked as, roughly, 1 a.m. March 26. Bartlett’s blood-alcohol content was .314 percent.

Mario Mills at first told the Riverton Police Department he had left his friend drinking alone in the garage the night before, and that Bartlett was in a “dark place” and had been talking about suicide.

In a later interview, Mills said it was he who had shot his friend, after a drunken argument about whether Bartlett should shoot himself. The two were playing cribbage and drinking, along with Courtnie Mills, the night of March 25.

Former wrestling club treasurer pleads guilty to theft

GILLETTE (WNE) — A former treasurer of two youth wrestling clubs in Gillette has pleaded guilty to theft and agreed to pay $50,000 in restitution for money he stole from them.

Sentencing for Steven D. Johnson, 44, is set for Sept. 9. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors will recommend a two-to-four-year prison sentence, suspended in favor of a 30-day split sentence in county jail to be served weekends. He can argue for a sentence that involves no time in custody.

Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of theft and another count was dismissed.

Under the plea deal, he would pay $20,500 to the Camel Kids Wrestling Club and $29,500 to the Gillette Wrestling Club.

The clubs originally identified $64,827 missing since October 2017 when Johnson became treasurer of the Gillette Wrestling Club. He became treasurer of the Camel Kids Wrestling Club in June 2018.

In late August, the Camel Kids Wrestling Club had gathered evidence about Johnson’s alleged use of the club’s debit card for personal use, many of the charges made on Amazon and at Walmart, but not for club purposes.

The Gillette Wrestling Club discovered Aug. 31 that its account at Wells Fargo Bank had been closed because it was overdrawn. Board members also learned he’d drained a different account at Campco Federal Credit Union and had opened a new account at Pinnacle Bank with a $4000 donation to the account and it was in arrears, according to an affidavit.

Tribe sues attorney, demands documents

CASPER (WNE) — The Northern Arapaho Tribe has filed a lawsuit against another former lawyer, alleging the law firm — which previously represented the tribe’s casino — is withholding $75,000 and has not returned tribal documents.

The lawsuit was filed last week in district court in Fremont County. It alleges that Riverton lawyer Joel Vincent, who previously represented the tribe’s Wind River Hotel & Casino, was “improperly” given $75,000 in tribal funds by casino employees who used the money as a down payment to retain Vincent’s services to later sue the tribe. The suit also alleges that Vincent has not returned “tribal documents related to the previous

representation.”

Vincent declined to comment by email last week, though he said he would respond “in a fullthroated fashion when permitted by counsel.”

According to the news release announcing the lawsuit against Vincent, the Business Council told the attorney in late May 2019 that Vincent was no longer representing the tribe. But, the suit alleges, Vincent received the $75,000 payment a week later.

In emails between Vincent and an attorney for the tribe attached to the lawsuit, Vincent acknowledges receiving the payment from the former CEO of the casino as a “prepayment” but denies that it was “unauthorized.”

Woman pleads not guilty in fire department foundation theft

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Stephanie Nomis pleaded not guilty last week to alleged felony theft in the case of funds missing from the Green River Fire Department Foundation.

The plea was entered before Judge Suzannah G. Robinson during a video conference arraignment in Sweetwater County Third District Court. Nomis’ trial is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2020.

Sweetwater County Sheriff’s deputies, assisted by special agents from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation’s Southwest Enforcement Team, arrested Stephanie Nomis and her husband Michael Nomis on March 2, 2020. Michael Nomis was chief of the Green River Fire Department at the time.

Stephanie Nomis was charged with alleged felony theft, and Michael Nomis was charged with alleged felony theft and wrongful appropriation of public property. The alleged crimes took place between Feb. 4 and Dec. 22, 2019. Michael Nomis pleaded not guilty to the charges against him at his arraignment on May 21.

In Wyoming, theft of $1,000 or more is a felony punishable by a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Stephanie Nomis’ bond was continued at $15,000 cash or surety.

The GRFD Foundation was established to supplement the budget provided to the fire department from the city, according to a press release issued in March. The foundation fund includes three separate bank accounts designated for different purposes such as equipment, victim services, etc.