The Star Valley Independent is part of the Wyoming News Exchange. These stories come courtesy of the WNE.

Former mobster admits to marijuana possession

CHEYENNE (WNE) — A former member of the Gambino crime family admitted Friday in Laramie County District Court to possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Henry Sentner, 81, has already spent a significant amount of time in prison after being convicted in the 1970s of murdering a nephew of infamous mob boss Carlo Gambino.
But his criminal history in Wyoming started last September, when Sentner was pulled over by a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper for speeding and the trooper found marijuana in the car.
On Friday, Sentner pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute, telling Judge Thomas Campbell that he was “transporting marijuana through Wyoming” on his way home to South Carolina when he was pulled over.
The trooper found a “sizeable amount” of marijuana in the back seat of Sentner’s rental car and even more in the trunk, amounting to about 35 pounds, according to court documents and Sentner’s testimony.
But Sentner’s guilty plea could be withdrawn and the case would be dismissed if he successfully appeals one of Campbell’s orders, according to a plea agreement.
In January, Sentner’s attorney, Devon Petersen, filed a motion to exclude the marijuana as evidence for trial, arguing that the trooper’s actions amounted to an “unreasonable seizure” of the drug.
But Judge Campbell denied Sentner’s motion to suppress the evidence, saying the initial stop was justified, and the trooper’s actions were “reasonably related to the purpose of the stop.”
For now, Sentner’s guilty plea will stand. The plea agreement states that the Laramie County District Attorney’s Office will ask the judge to sentence Sentner to four to six years in prison, and Petersen is free to argue as he sees fit.

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Woman sentenced for hitting husband’s car with her own

GILLETTE (WNE) — A 35-year-old woman who could spend up to 14 years in prison for chasing her husband through Gillette and ramming her Ford Taurus head-on into his Jeep Liberty will first serve time in the Campbell County jail for 10 misdemeanor charges.
Lenae Rook sped through residential neighborhoods and several parking lots in June, totaling her husband’s car and destroying the landscaping at a business.
Circuit Court Judge Wendy Bartlett found her guilty March 19 of eight misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident. Rook will serve concurrent sentences for four counts of reckless driving, two counts of leaving the scene of a crash, one count of driving without an ignition interlock device and one count of failing to stop at a red light.
Rook has completed her 20-day sentences for failing to stop at a red light and for one count of leaving a crash scene. She has about 129 days remaining of the 180-day sentences for the other six misdemeanors.
In District Court last month, Rook pleaded guilty to three additional charges that also resulted from the June car chase. District Judge Thomas Rumpke gave her concurrent sentences of three to eight years for aggravated assault, three to five years for felony destruction of property and 107 days for misdemeanor destruction of property. Rook will receive credit for 107 days served.
Rumpke also revoked her probation for a 2013 felony drunken driving charge because she had been drinking before the chase. Rook will serve 2.5 to six years for the probation violation and will receive credit for 94 days served.

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Riverton parents lose appeal in lawsuit over daughter’s death

RIVERTON (WNE) — The parents of Sophia Archer, the Riverton elementary school student who was killed in a crosswalk three years ago, have lost an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
After the death of their 7-year-old daughter in 2015, Timothy and Ryann Archer sued both the Wyoming Department of Transportation and the city of Riverton.
The Archers claimed that negligence of both entities contributed to the death of their daughter.
While leaving Ashgrove Elementary School, the child was struck and killed by the vehicle of 78-year-old Sandra Pennock, who erroneously had been granted a driver’s license by WYDOT.
Pennock had a glass eye and monocular vision, which would have made it impossible for her to pass an eye exam.
The City of Riverton also contributed to Sophia’s death, the Archers alleged, because it had not adequately painted the crosswalk.
Even if the governmental employees had been negligent, defense attorneys argued, their rights to governmental immunity meant that they could not be held legally liable.
The Archers argued that strict application of governmental immunity is “simply unconscionable.”
The Supreme Court upheld district court judge Norman Young’s ruling that state statute does not waive immunity for the specific kind of negligence that Riverton and WYDOT were accused of.
The crosswalk at the intersection of North First Street and Sunset Drive where the girl was struck has since been painted, and enhanced warning signs have been placed.

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Man accused of swallowing cocaine pleads guilty to possession

JACKSON (WNE) — A man accused of using fake money to buy a ski pass at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and then swallowing cocaine in front of a sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession Thursday in exchange for the dismissal of a felony forgery charge.
Michael Hagele, 48, appeared in person Thursday morning in Teton County Circuit Court with his attorney John Robinson.
The California resident was ordered to complete 20 hours of community service, successfully complete outpatient treatment for addiction and serve one year of probation.
If he does that without violating probation terms, the charge will be deferred.
Hagele was in town the week of Jan. 20 with some friends for a ski trip.
Hagele was caught after an employee at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort found a fake $20 bill that police said the defendant hid in a stack of real bills to purchase a two-day lift ticket.
When it was discovered, police were called, employees shut down his pass and deputies tracked him down on the ski hill.
The fake bill was obvious, police noted, because it said “motion picture purposes” on it.
When police located Hagele at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort they discovered more fake cash, according to the probable cause affidavit.
“I don’t know how or where I got that,” Hagele reportedly told police at the time.
That’s when police said a white chunky substance fell out of another fake bill, and Hagele said “oops” and tossed it into his mouth.
“After inspecting it briefly I asked if it was crack cocaine and Hagele responded, ‘It might be something like that,’ ” the officer wrote. “I asked Hagele again to identify the substance and he said, ‘It’s a little bit of cocaine.’ ”