State Briefs

Wyoming gas prices fall by 3.1 cents in past week

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming gas prices have fallen 3.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.26 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s daily survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.

Gas prices in Wyoming are 11.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand $1.08 per gallon higher than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Wyoming was priced at $2.65 per gallon Monday, while the most expensive was $3.84, a difference of $1.19.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 0.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.27 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 9.0 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.03 per gallon higher than a year ago.

Man sentenced to prison on meth possession

GILLETTE (WNE) — A Gillette man will spend more than 11 years in federal prison after he was found in August 2020 with 8 ounces of meth in a local hotel room.

Allen David Jenerou, 35, was sentenced last month by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl to 140 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. It is to be followed by four years of supervised release. He also was ordered to pay $400 in restitution and a $100 special assessment.

Jenerou was one of three people arrested in August 2020 in connection with what police called a “substantial” amount of crystal meth. He had been charged locally but those charges were dropped.

Police were looking for him in August 2020 for an unrelated aggravated assault and battery that day, and they learned that he was staying at a local hotel with two women.

After a drug dog indicated drugs were in Jenerou’s hotel room, police got a search warrant and found 8 ounces of crystal meth in a black cardboard box hidden underneath the bed frame of one of the beds in the room.

Chelsie Gray Grass, 32, and Josie Jean Williams, 31, also were charged in the case.

Man sentenced to prison for attempted assault

CODY (WNE) — A Cody man has been sentenced to 12-16 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to commit first degree sexual assault.

Saturnino “Junior” Rodriguez, 21, admitted to trying to rape a 31-year-old woman at the Caroline Lockhart Inn last March. Charges for burglary with intent to commit first degree sexual assault were dismissed with prejudice under the plea deal.

After walking into a room at the inn without approval, he entered the bathroom where the woman was and lowered his pants, pulling out and playing with his genitalia. He confirmed that he grabbed the woman’s head in an effort to engage oral sex, and said that she “freaked out” in response to his actions.

Rodriguez said the female rejected him, but he “pleaded” with her to have sex with him. When she escaped out of the bathroom, Rodriguez followed and pushed her face down onto the bed. He confirmed he opened up her shirt and made contact with her breasts with his mouth and hands.

“Rodriguez confirmed that [the woman] kept saying no and was trying to get away,” Cody Police Officer Juston Wead wrote in the affidavit.

At this point the victim ran out of the room, and Rodriguez was verbally confronted by one of her male friends.

When Rodriguez first spoke with authorities about the incident, he claimed he engaged in acts consensually.

He later admitted his intentions were to have sex with the woman and he was going to do this consensually or “‘by force,’” Wead said.

Teton attorney disbarment decision pending

CASPER (WNE) — A decision on disbarment for a Teton County prosecutor who violated seven rules of professional conduct is still pending in the Wyoming Supreme Court, more than seven months later. 

A Wyoming State Bar tribunal recommended Becket Hinckley be disbarred in May, after a week-long hearing on his conduct during a 2015 trial that sentenced Josh Black to life in prison on assault charges. 

The state Supreme Court makes the final call on disbarment. 

A three-person Board of Professional Responsibility panel found in the hearing that Hinckley had knowingly lied in court, failed to secure certain records in the case, disobeyed direct orders from a judge, made inappropriate comments during the trial and failed to follow up on warrants and preservation letters with law enforcement. 

Bar counsel Mark Gifford said at the conclusion of the hearing that the state’s highest court typically rules on disbarment decisions (though they are relatively rare) within three months of a recommendation. The process may be drawn out longer if Hinckley appeals the decision, but that can’t happen until the Supreme Court rules. 

Gifford said that only once in roughly the last ten years has the court disagreed with a recommendation for disbarment. 

Chief Justice Kate Fox said she can’t comment on the decision since it’s still under the court’s advisement. 

“As with every other case before us, the Supreme Court takes the time necessary to review the record, research the law, and issue a well-reasoned an opinion,” Fox said in an email Tuesday.

Bedford man killed in fatal accident

AFTON (WNE) — A Bedford resident has been identified as the victim of a fatal accident on Highway 89 that took place in the early morning hours of Monday, Dec. 20.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol confirmed that David Reel, 58, was killed when he drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided head-on with another vehicle.

According to WYDOT, Reel was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene of the accident.

According to the WYDOT incident report, the road was icy at the time of the crash. However, the responding officer told SVI News that road conditions did not appear to be the cause of the accident.

Driver inattention, driver fatigue or a possible medical condition are all being investigated as possible contributing factors.

Winners of ‘Governor’s Arts Awards’ announced

ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — Governor Mark Gordon has announced the recipients of the Wyoming Arts Council’s 2021 Governor’s Arts Awards. 

Recipients will be honored at a dinner and awards ceremony on Feb. 4, 2022 in Cheyenne. 

The recipients are: Bronwyn Minton, artist/curator from Jackson; Debora Soule, arts administrator from Rock Springs; James Bama, artist from Wapiti; Off Square Theatre Company, from Jackson; and a posthumous award to Charles Belden, a photographer from Meetseetse. 

Established in 1982, the Governor’s Arts Awards winners are selected based on their substantial contributions made in Wyoming that exemplify a long-term commitment to the arts, with special consideration given to nominees whose arts service is statewide. 

There are many nominations submitted for the Governor’s Arts Awards each year, and the selection process is quite competitive. Nominations are submitted to the Wyoming Arts Council in October, and reviewed in November by the Wyoming Arts Council Board, which sends recommendations to the Governor, who makes the final decisions on which recipients are honored. 

Nominations are open to any Wyoming citizen, business or community member. Award criteria includes: length of commitment to the arts, outstanding contribution or impact, breadth of support, involvement in special initiatives supporting the arts, artistic excellence/level of standards.