State Briefs

Barnum gets nine to 13 years in prison for construction project cons 

GILLETTE (WNE) — The man who conned people out of money for construction projects that he never completed faces a lengthy probationary period after he gets out of prison.

Jason R. Barnum, 43, was sentenced in March to nine to 13 years in prison for defrauding the Boy Scouts and a 76-year-old woman of more than $150,000.

District Judge Thomas W. Rumpke added to that sentence after Barnum pleaded guilty to another felony count of obtaining goods by false pretenses as well misdemeanor counts of fraud. He sentenced Barnum to five to ten years in prison, but suspended that sentence in favor of ten years of supervised probation, which was part of a plea agreement.

Another felony count of fraud and two other misdemeanor charges were dismissed. As part of the agreement, he also will pay restitution on all of the counts, which amounts to more than $6,500, as well as $2000 on a case that was never charged.

In those cases, homeowners contacted Barnum through Facebook to do work on their homes, ranging from installing flooring to repairs to painting, according to affidavits filed in the case. In each of them, he asked for about half the cost of the job upfront, which the homeowners paid. But then he didn’t show up to do the work, often citing illness as an excuse.

Barnum’s attorney, Greg Steward, said suspending the sentence and instituting a long period of supervised probation was suggested to ensure that he pays the restitution the victims are owed.

Other cases against Barnum are pending in Crook and Weston counties.

Wyoming Game and Fish initiates trapping reform

JACKSON (WNE) — Wildlife managers in the Equality State are taking steps to rework their trapping regulations and setting out on a public process pointed at reform.

Calls for change to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s furbearer trapping rules have been loud at times, especially in the aftermath of incidents that kill people’s dogs. This spring an internal agency working group queried a diverse batch of 140 residents, including trappers and conservationists, to better understand their views on potential reforms. Recommendations emerged, and now they’re taking the ideas to the general public.

“A lot of the recommendations are for more education,” said Game and Fish Lander Region Supervisor Jason Hunter. “That includes letting folks know that trapping is an accepted use on the landscape so they can better prepare themselves — as well as more education for trappers.”

Other preliminary recommendations listed by the department include signing areas that are actively trapped and establishing trap-free setbacks from trails and trailheads. There were common concerns identified around the issues of wildlife and pets inadvertently caught, the trap check periods for snares, and for the lack of monitoring and mortality limits for fur-bearing species. There was also support for new trap type restrictions and larger trap-free areas.

This spring, the advocacy groups Wyoming Untrapped and WY Trap FREE-mont County petitioned the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to close heavily recreated parts of Teton and Fremont counties to trapping. The discussion they started spiraled into the stakeholder interviews, recommendations and now the public process that’s gearing up.

Game and Fish has set up six meetings statewide in Rock Springs, Jackson, Laramie and Lander. The Laramie and Lander meetings will be broadcast virtually. Go to WGFD.WYO.gov/meetings to register to attend, and to find trapping reform regulations being considered.

Man accused of holding gun to heads of two men

LARAMIE (WNE) — A 21-year-old Laramie man, Kobi Vasquez, has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and battery after he allegedly held a loaded gun to two men’s heads Friday night.

Police responded to the area of 4th and Gibbon streets at around 9:40 p.m. after there was a report of three gunshots.

Soon after, police were dispatched to a residence on North Cedar Street, where they met with a man identified in court documents only as T.G.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, T.G. said that he and Vasquez had left The Ranger Bar earlier, and Vasquez drove drunk and, while on Bradley Street, stuck his handgun out the driver side window and fired at least two shots.

Later while driving around, T.G. and Vasquez got into an argument, which led Vasquez to point the handgun at T.G.’s head.

Vasquez then allegedly put a loaded magazine into the handgun and racked the slide to a round, pointed the gun at T.G.’s head and stated “his 9 was going to clap his head.”

Instead, Vasquez drove to T.G.’s residence on Cedar Street, where the pair continued to argue.

When T.G.’s father told Vasquez to leave, Vasquez drew the handgun and pointed at the head of the father and said “I’m going to shoot your ass.”

Instead, Vasquez eventually left in his Jeep after another round of arguing.

Police later found Vasquez’s Jeep on South Hayes Street, where they found Vasquez inside.

Goshen schools suspend attendance policies

TORRINGTON (WNE) — Goshen County School District No. 1 voted unanimously to temporarily suspend the district attendance policy due to the novel coronavirus pandemic during an Aug. 24 special meeting. 

The now-suspended District Policy 5113 states “All students are expected to be in attendance for regular classes.” To successfully complete a grade level, elementary and secondary school students could miss no more than ten classes. 

Given state, local and school district recommendations for students to stay home when showing symptoms of COVID-19, the policy is not applicable for what Superintendent Ryan Kramer called “a unique year. 

“In other years, we reinforced a really intense requirement on attendance, which we know definitely impacts student learning,” Kramer said. “We don’t discount that in this situation. But we also do not want to put a heavy burden on families. If a student has a runny nose or a cough, we would prefer that they not come to school.” 

Kramer referenced the district’s first positive case of COVID-19 at Torrington High School and the student’s and their parents’ decision to stay home and get tested when they started showing symptoms. The action, he said, might have prevented additional exposure. 

He acknowledged board member Mark Jespersen’s concern that in rescinding this policy, the district personnel would still reach out to students with a significant number of absences and reiterate they care and want them in school. 

Students and educators who are absent due to illness or potential virus exposure can still participate in class remotely, Kramer said.

Evanston woman arrested, accused of stealing from disabled person

EVANSTON (WNE) — A former Evanston resident wanted for allegedly stealing several thousand dollars from a developmentally disabled person has been apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) in Mesa, Arizona. 

An arrest warrant was issued in late February for Belinda Waters, 62, on charges of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult after an investigation by the Evanston Police Department. 

The EPD was contacted in February by a staff member of Mountain Regional Services Inc. (MRSI) regarding a developmentally disabled client. Waters had become the client’s legal guardian in late 2008 after she had been caring for the client while employed by MRSI. 

At the time Waters assumed guardianship, the client had received nearly $35,000 in a payment from Social Security, which Waters was to oversee for the client’s care. 

Approximately $7000 was spent on legal fees, leaving about $28,000 in the client’s account. At the time the investigation began, however, there was approximately $4,300 remaining in the account and no record of where the majority of the missing money had gone. 

Staff at MRSI were aware that at one time Waters had used some of the money to purchase the client new eyeglasses and a recliner. However, those purchases were estimated to have cost between $1,000-2,000 and the client’s current caregivers were unaware of any other purchases or payments on the client’s behalf. 

Locating Waters was difficult because she had reportedly moved to Arizona at about the same time she had assumed the client’s guardianship. 

Investigators discovered Waters had left employment at an Arizona caregiving facility after an investigation began into money that had allegedly gone missing from a client in Waters’ care.