A Bedford man has been convicted of drug and gun charges following a jury trial in the Third Judicial District Court for Lincoln County. Following the conviction on charges of possession of methamphetamine and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, 57-year-old Richard Hansen will be held in the Lincoln County Detention Center in Kemmerer. During the course of the trial it was proven from evidence that Hansen had been previously convicted of a violent felony.

The two-day trial took place on Monday and Tuesday, June 17 and 18, in Kemmerer. The Honorable Joseph Bluemel presided over the case. The jury consisted of 12 individuals from several communities in Lincoln County. Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred brought the charges against the defendant and was the lead prosecutor at the jury trial.

In December of 2023, Hansen was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by deputies form the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office while in Thayne for failing to have a license plate. According to the Lincoln County Attorney’s Office, during the traffic stop probable cause led the deputies to search the vehicle. They discovered a backpack that contained a loaded .40 caliber handgun and digital scales that contained methamphetamine residue. From other items in the backpack, it was determined that the defendant was in possession of the backpack and the items in it.

A felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by up to three years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary and the possession of a controlled substance (Methamphetamine) is punishable up to five years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary in this case.