State Briefs

Officials believe spark from maintenance caused rail car explosion

RIVERTON (WNE) — Officials believe they know what caused the spark that led to a fatal explosion Wednesday in a railcar in Shoshoni, but they still are investigating how the combustible fuel in the tanker reached such a high level. 

The blast killed two men: Dallas Mitchell, 28, of Riverton, and Daniel Conway, 18, of Shoshoni.

The Wasatch Rail Repair employees were inside the tanker conducting routine maintenance when the explosion occurred at about 3:25 p.m. Wednesday. 

Citing information from initial investigations, Shoshoni Police Department chief Chris Konija said the spark that ignited the explosion likely was produced by the work the men were doing in the tanker — using a grinder to remove paint and perform an ultrasound test checking the thickness and integrity of the welds of the vessel. 

“The common practice is for a metal wheel to remove some of the paint so the test can be conducted against the metal,” Konija said. “That is believed to be what provided the spark, or source of the initial ignition.” 

What remains unknown, Konija said, is how the gaseous concentration in the container reached a combustible density level. 

“We’re trying to explain [that],” he said. “There are multiple theories of how that came to be, but we don’t have enough information at this time to make a determination of exactly why that level was present.”

The tanker involved in the Wednesday explosion most recently carried propane, Konija said, again citing information obtained in the initial investigation.

Hatchet threat yields prison sentence

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A man was sentenced to prison in Laramie County District Court for threatening another man with a hatchet and then stealing his car.

Clyde Julius Tyler Jr. pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault and battery (threatening with weapon) on April 22 before being sentenced by Laramie County District Judge Peter Froelicher to four to seven years of incarceration.

An additional charge, felony theft, was dismissed at sentencing as part of a plea agreement.

Froelicher said Tyler’s criminal history was extensive, though relatively nonviolent, which led him to determine that probation was not appropriate.

At 8:29 p.m. Jan. 18, a Laramie County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a stolen vehicle involving a hatchet, according to court documents. A man told the deputy Tyler had threatened him with a hatchet and demanded he hand over the keys to his Jeep.

Tyler was arrested Jan. 24 on unrelated misdemeanor warrants, according to court documents. The Jeep was later located, with a hatchet lying on the passenger seat.

Torrington police investigate murder

TORRINGTON (WNE) — The Torrington Police Department (TPD), Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and Goshen County Coroner are currently investigating a homicide, arson, and vehicle theft that were reported Tuesday morning, April 20. 

According to a press release from Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson, “our Communications Center was made aware of a fire in the 300 block of East Valley Road in Torrington” on the morning of April 20. 

After the Torrington Volunteer Fire Department (TVFD) had arrived on scene and began working to battle the blaze, officers were made aware of suspicious circumstances surrounding the incident. 

As a result of the information received, the fire is being investigated as a suspected arson. 

The release continues, “Officers conducted a follow-up investigation based on the information that was received, and a deceased person was ultimately located in the 1300 block of East 17th Avenue in Torrington. The death is suspicious in nature and is being investigated as a suspected homicide at this time.” 

Officers were made aware of a reported stolen vehicle in the 1700 block of East C Street while they were investigating the suspected homicide. 

“All of these incidents are believed to be related and the crimes are associated with a single suspect,” Johnson said.

Sean Pettus, a 32-year-old male and owner of BadDreams&Robots tattoo parlor in Torrington, has been identified as the suspect in the matter. 

He was arrested Tuesday morning, April 20 and is being detained at the Goshen County Detention Center without bail.

Arch on track to pull out of Powder River Basin coal

GILLETTE (WNE) — An accelerated plan to exit the Powder River Basin continues for Arch Resources Inc., which reported Thursday that it’s on pace to stop producing coal from its Coal Creek mine by the end of the year and to account for about 80% of its reclamation obligations at the mine by mid-2022.

“We are methodically harvesting value and cash from our legacy thermal assets while working down our long-term closure obligations in a systematic and measured way,” said Arch CEO Paul A. Lang in a 2021 first-quarter earnings report released Thursday morning.

The company already has completed $8 million worth of work in reducing Coal Creek’s retirement obligations along with $2 million for its flagship Black Thunder mine near Wright.

Overall, Arch reports a net loss of $6 million for the first quarter of the year, compared to losing $78.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2020 and $344.6 million overall in 2020.

After a sluggish start to the new year in January and February, mostly fueled by a continuing lag from the COVID-19 pandemic, Lang said the company had a very good March and is optimistic for that to continue into the summer.

He also said that while the PRB mines continue to show a profit, at 98 cents per ton in the first quarter, the company remains committed to extracting itself from thermal coal and the Powder River Basin.