State Briefs

COVID forces Riverton hospital to move services to Lander

RIVERTON (WNE) — In-patient hospital services by SageWest Health Care in Riverton have been moved to the Lander hospital due to high COVID-19 infection rates among staff.

“As you may have heard,” wrote SageWest spokeswoman Lindsey Anderson in a Tuesday statement, “members of our team have tested positive for COVID-19. To that end, we made the decision to temporarily transition all inpatient care to our Lander campus.” 

Imaging, emergency care, outpatient services, lab, surgical and infusion services still are available in Riverton.

“We are anticipating supplemental staffing resources provided by the Wyoming Governor’s initiative,” Anderson noted, adding that staff health would be re-evaluated and in-patient services resumed when possible. “Rest assured that this is a temporary solution to meet the evolving health care needs of our patients during these unprecedented times,” she wrote. Anderson concluded by promoting personal hygiene, gathering limits, and keep distance.

Special prosecutor to be named for shooting investigation

GILLETTE (WNE) — The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is continuing its investigation into a fatal Nov. 13 officer-involved shooting in Gillette, said Louey Williams, DCI’s team leader for the northeastern region.

But moving forward, review of the incident may be taking a different path than expected.

Once DCI’s investigation is completed, instead of Campbell County Attorney Mitch Damsky heading the case, a conflict of interest will result in a special prosecutor being chosen to review the incident going forward.

Having worked as a public defender in Gillette before his recent appointment as county attorney, Damsky said he had previously defended the deceased suspect in the shooting, 31-year-old Cody William Amman.

“Cody was a client of mine,” Damsky said at a meeting of county elected officials earlier this week.

The Campbell County Commission will name a special prosecutor to review the DCI report and move forward with its handling at the commission’s next meeting Dec. 15, said Maureen Costello, a legal assistant in the Campbell County Attorney’s Office.

“There is a conflict,” Costello said. “That report has not been given to our office. It will be given to a special prosecutor. Whatever timeline that person takes to make that decision, I’m unsure of.”

Information released about the case so far includes an initial Gillette Police Department statement that said Amman was shot after allegedly firing at a Gillette Police officer, who then returned fire. Amman was struck twice in the upper body.

Wyoming puts $10 million into long-term care

CASPER (WNE) — Wyoming will put $10 million of federal pandemic relief dollars toward staffing nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

COVID-19 has continually spread through these locations, with the Wyoming Department of Health announcing Friday that 81 residents of long-term care facilities have now died from the virus — an increase of 42% over the last two weeks. 

The $10 million will be used to hire traveling nurses and nursing aides to facilities in need of staff, according to a release published Friday by Gov. Mark Gordon’s office. Eighty-eight such personnel have been hired for temporary contracts at Wyoming long-term care facilities, with more likely on the way. 

Friday’s data update was an increase of 24 deaths since the Wyoming Department of Health last published new numbers Nov. 19. Nine locations reported COVID-19 cases Friday for the first time in the last two weeks, representing nearly 24% of all long-term care facilities that have reported cases since the pandemic emerged. 

The coronavirus has infected 1300 staff and residents at 38 facilities statewide since the pandemic began. 

Casper’s nursing homes have shouldered much of that burden. Two local care centers account for the highest death tolls of any facility in the state: Shepherd of the Valley Rehabilitation and Wellness, which has lost 24 residents to the deadly virus, and Casper Mountain Rehabilitation and Care Center, which has lost 13 residents, according to state data.

Man sentenced to prison in wife’s stabbing

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man who pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter after stabbing his estranged wife in the neck has been sentenced to prison.

On Oct. 3, 2019, Joseph Cruzen stabbed Danielle Cruzen in the neck with a pocketknife. In September, he pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter, which had been reduced from attempted second-degree murder.

Wednesday morning, District Judge John R. Perry sentenced Cruzen to eight to 13 years in prison for attempted manslaughter and four to five years for felonious restraint, to be served concurrently. Once he is released from prison, he will serve five years of probation for strangulation.

Cruzen must pay $15,000 to the Division of Victim Services and $2521.38 to Danielle Cruzen. He also must pay $1750 in public defender fees. He was not assessed any fines, which Perry pointed out was unusual.

Public Defender Greg Steward said the plea agreement gives Cruzen the opportunity to show that he “can be a peaceful, law-abiding citizen on probation” once he’s released from prison.

While on probation, Cruzen may not have dangerous weapons, drink alcohol or controlled substances, and he is not allowed to be anywhere alcohol is available.

Danielle Cruzen recounted the events of Oct. 3, 2019, in a victim impact statement. She said she is “emotionally and physically scarred for the rest of my life.” 

Doctors who treated Danielle Cruzen said she was lucky to be alive because of the critical organs that the knife narrowly missed, like the jugular vein and carotid artery, according to earlier court testimony.

Spring trial date eyed in child’s death

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — The first-degree murder trial for Christopher James Nielsen will likely take place in the spring of 2021.

A status hearing on the case was conducted via video in Sweetwater County District Court on Friday afternoon before Judge Suzannah Robinson. The trial that had once been set for June 1, 2020, had been rescheduled for February of 2021. Now, it will be continued at least another month or two. One reason for the delay is the COVID-19 pandemic.

A first-degree murder charge was filed against Nielsen after a five-year-old Green River boy died Nov. 28, 2019, from injuries allegedly received while in his care. Nielsen pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Third District Court on Jan. 10, 2020.

Nielsen was originally arrested Nov. 14, 2019, for alleged aggravated child abuse after the boy he had been babysitting was flown to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City with life-threatening injuries. Those charges were dropped and first-degree charges filed after the boy died.

Nielsen had lived in Sweetwater County for a week before the boy was hospitalized. He was staying with Vanessa Kidner, the mother of the boy who died, and her fiancé, Stacy Willeitner, in exchange for babysitting Kidner’s two children.

During Friday’s hearing, two potential 2021 trial dates were discussed: April 5-16 or March 29-April 9. Judge Robinson noted that the trial is expected to take two weeks.

Nielsen’s bond is set at $1 million, and he remains in custody at the Sweetwater County Detention Center.

Gordon concerned over tree protection proposal

CASPER (WNE) — A proposal by federal regulators to institute additional protections for whitebark pines across the country garnered a lukewarm response from Wyoming’s governor, who expressed concern the tree’s new threatened species status would impede state-led forest management efforts.

Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed changing the status of whitebark pines to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. The trees grow at high elevations in states across the West, including Wyoming. But climate change, a fungal disease and mountain pine beetle infestations have decimated whitebark pines. With growth and regeneration rates for the trees slowing, the species is at risk of “imminent” extinction, according to the proposed rule published on the Federal Register on Wednesday.

Whitebark pines serve an important role in the iconic landscapes they grow in. For instance, grizzly bears and other wildlife in Yellowstone National Park rely on the trees for food. The trees also help the alpine ecosystems they grow in avoid excess flooding and erosion.

The species has been a candidate for additional protections since 2011.

Gov. Mark Gordon offered tepid support for the proposed rule.

“Wyoming always seeks to avoid the need for listing and will remain committed to working with our federal partners to approach species conservation in a pragmatic manner,” he said in a statement.

“The proposed rule protects operations, including grazing and logging, under Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act (also known as a “4(d) rule”),” he continued. “While the inclusion of a 4(d) rule is encouraging and avoids undue burdens for private landowners and businesses, any listing under the [Endangered Species Act] is concerning.”