Wyoming News Briefs SEPTEMBER 19

Woman charged in attempted stabbing over salad

LARAMIE (WNE) — Laramie woman Tammy Jackson has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery after she allegedly tried stabbing her son during a fit of rage about a salad.

The attack occurred Monday afternoon inside the 47-year-old woman’s home at Lee’s Mobile Home Park, located north of the intersection of Cedar Street and Old Stockyard Road.

Her son, whose age is not detailed in the affidavit of probable cause, was found to have several cuts on his hands when police arrived around 3 p.m.

Jackson’s son said the attack occurred after his mom “had apparently been very upset because she could not find some of her salad mix.”

The son told police that Jackson was banging on his bedroom door, and when she entered, she “began yelling about them about eating a salad.”

Jackson reportedly then picked up a crockpot. Fearing his mom was going to throw the slow-cooker, the son was “able to reach out and smack it down to prevent her from throwing it.”

The woman then allegedly grabbed an 11-inch kitchen knife from the drying rack in the kitchen and began to “attempt to stab” her son.

Jackson’s son told police he “was able to push her hand out of the way and subsequently got a hold of the knife” by catching it “over the top of the blade with his fingers extended under the blade.”

Aggravated assault and battery is a felony punishable by imprisonment of no more than 10 years.

———

Cheyenne man found guilty in sexual assault case

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A Cheyenne man was found guilty Wednesday of sexually abusing a minor after a two-and-a-half day jury trial in front of Laramie County District Judge Catherine Rogers.

After about an hour of deliberations, the jury found Charles Armajo, 35, guilty of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor.

The victim in the case was a 15-year-old girl from China, who spoke little English, and Armajo was 34 years old at the time of the assault. During closing arguments, District Attorney Leigh Anne Manlove said sexual assault is a universal language.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, what country you come from or what language you speak,” Manlove said.

The case stems from an incident where Armajo and the girl, who was his stepdaughter, went out hunting together. After she killed a deer, Armajo told her they had to perform a Native American ceremony to honor the deer.

During this ceremony, the girl laid down on her back, and this is when the sexual assault occurred.

Manlove said this wasn’t a ceremony, and Armajo was just looking for the right opportunity to sexually assault the girl.

The girl told her mother what happened the night of the assault and then her school counselor the next day.

Jurors ultimately found the evidence corroborated the victim’s story, and they found Armajo guilty.

He will be sentenced at a future date, after a presentence investigation is completed. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

———

Death of teen injured in car wreck ruled homicide

RIVERTON (WNE) — The death of a Riverton teen who was the passenger in a single-vehicle rollover this spring west of Riverton has been ruled a homicide, local officials said this week. Rose M. Dewey, 18, died June 18 at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, where she was taken after the May 11 crash.

The Fremont County Coroner's Office says she died of acute respiratory distress syndrome and a disseminated fungal infection that resulted from "multiple and severe" traumatic injuries suffered in the single-vehicle rollover, with ejection.

The crash also killed Triston Antelope, 16, of Ethete.

Previous reports indicate Antelope was intoxicated and driving at the time, with a blood-alcohol content of .326 and 2.1 nanograms per milliliter of Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol in her system.

Officials said she was ejected in the crash and died of multiple blunt-force injuries that day.

Dewey also was intoxicated, according to coroner's records, which indicate her BAC was .30 at the time.

Previous reports indicate the vehicle involved in the rollover was the subject of a drunken driving report that night in the city of Riverton.

The rollover was reported at about 3:35 a.m. May 11 near milepost 129 on U.S. Highway 26 just west of Riverton. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has jurisdiction over the incident, which took place on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

———

Man faces up to 100 years on sexual assault charges

CODY (WNE) — A 66-year-old Clark man is facing up to 100 years in prison and $50,000 in fines for alleged second degree sexual abuse of a minor.

David Wayne Miller is accused of inappropriately touching an 8-year-old girl on at least five different occasions during a 1½ year period in 2018 and 2019.

According to an affidavit prepared by Park County Deputy Andy MaGill, the victim said Miller put his hand down the front of her pants on multiple occasions and touched her private parts.

During an in-person interview which took place in late August, MaGill said Miller admitted to the charges and that he “screwed up.” But, in his account of the events, he said the touching occurred through the outside of the victim’s pants. He admitted to authorities that he was “aroused” from these events, MaGill said.

Department of Family Services staff and MaGill performed an interview with the child on Aug. 22.

After starting the conversation out with some small talk, as soon as the conversation moved to the allegations, authorities could “detect a very distinct change” in the victim’s bearing and her demeanor to a “dourer disposition.”

According to the affidavit, she told authorities the accused party, “has been messing with me, like not in the right way.”

The victim said the alleged acts had been occurring since she was in the first grade.

Miller is currently in custody at the Park County Detention Center with $250,000 cash-only bond after being arrested following his alleged confession.

———

Alleged voyeur’s arraignment delayed by health issues

BUFFALO (WNE) — A Kaycee man charged with photographing women and children in a gas station restroom without their knowledge has suffered “stroke like” symptoms, according to a second motion of continuance filed by the defense.

Michael Cheser, 59, was charged with 23 counts of voyeurism after Johnson County sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant on Cheser’s phone. The charges stem from photographs and videos Cheser allegedly made of patrons using the women's restroom at a gas station.

Cheser was out on a $50,000 cash-only bond awaiting his scheduled Aug. 12 arraignment when, according to a continuance motion filed on Aug. 8, Cheser went to the emergency room in Sheridan Memorial Hospital with “stroke like symptoms.”

The motion was granted and a second arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 9.

On Sept. 9, Cheser's defense attorney, Ryan Healy, filed another motion of continuance citing a followup appointment for Cheser with a neurologist in Cheyenne scheduled for Sept. 12, “as his condition could affect his competency.”

Cheser was arrested on May 30, after the Johnson County Sheriff's Office received

a call on May 25 from a victim who had used the restroom at a gas station. While in the bathroom, the victim discovered a Casio cellphone taped inside of a toilet paper dispenser.

On May 28, Johnson County deputies executed a search warrant on the phone, discovering 25 videos. The videos, taken between April 7 and May 22, revealed 90 different females disrobing to use the restroom, according to court documents.

———

VSV confirmed in Hot Springs County

THERMOPOLIS (WNE) — Vesicular Stomatitis (VSV) that has affected some of Wyoming’s equine, has now spread to cattle in three different herds. There has been confirmation from the Wyoming Livestock Board of one case in cattle Hot Springs County, and other cases are believed to be in Park and Platte counties.

The disease was first discovered in Wyoming around late July when a horse in Platte county was confirmed by state and national veterinarian’s with the virus. Since then, twelve counties across the Cowboy State have confirmed cases in equine infections. Biting insects is believed to be the main cause for the outbreak, however the viral disease is highly contagious and can spread by animal-to-animal contact.

Due to reports of VSV being found in Wyoming horses, the Thermopolis Gymkhana scheduled for Sept. 21 will now be Oct. 26 to allow time for a good freeze. Outbreak of the disease has also caused the annual WYO Quarter Horse Ranch Fall Sale to be rescheduled for Oct. 12.

Vesicular Stomatitis is a viral disease that commonly affects horses, cattle and pigs but can affect sheep, goats and wild animals. The major concern with this disease is that it mimics Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), which has been eradicated in the United States since 1929.