The Star Valley Independent is part of the Wyoming News Exchange.

These stories courtesy of the WNE

Suspect in Cheyenne shooting faces other charges

CHEYENNE (WNE) — The man prosecutors called the main suspect in a deadly shooting last week appeared Friday in Laramie County Circuit Court on interference, burglary and property destruction charges. 

Frank McHenry, 25, was formally charged Thursday with two counts of aggravated burglary with a deadly weapon, four counts of felony interference with a peace officer and a misdemeanor count of property destruction. 

He has not been charged with murder, but law enforcement officials say they are still gathering DNA evidence that they hope will connect McHenry to a gun found near the crime scene. 

At Friday’s hearing, prosecutor Benjamin Sherman requested that McHenry be transported to the Wyoming State Hospital in Evanston to undergo a mental competency evaluation, meaning evaluators will determine whether McHenry can understand the charges against him and assist in his defense. 

Judge Denise Nau set McHenry’s bond at $100,000 cash and appointed an attorney from the Wyoming Public Defender’s Office. 

According to a “probable cause affidavit” filed with the charges, on May 11, deputies were called to an area south of Cheyenne for a report of shots fired in the area. 

They found Kristen Smith, who had been shot in the hip, near the scene. She told deputies the man who shot her was wearing a black sweatshirt and was last seen running toward a brick house. The house belongs to Peter Pontillo. 

While searching the property, deputies arrived at a junk yard where they found the body of Joseph Tortolito buried under several pallets.

Shortly after deputies found Tortolito’s body, the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department and Cheyenne Police Department combined SWAT team saw McHenry run out of a house with a gun. 

Witnesses saw him rummage through two vehicles before getting into a Suburban and backing down the driveway. The SWAT team stopped him. 

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ElkFest auction sees high sales

JACKSON (WNE) — Antlers averaged $18.36 per pound at the annual ElkFest auction Saturday, according to a release from the National Elk Refuge. The auction generated $173,805, the fifth-highest total in its history.

For the 51st year, the refuge partnered with the Jackson District Boy Scouts to auction off bundles of antlers. Scouts and Scout leaders put in 2,000 volunteer hours to collect antlers and prepare for the event, roughly equivalent to one staff member putting in a year of full-time work weeks.

The Scouts receive 25 percent of the proceeds, and the other 75 percent goes to the Elk Refuge’s habitat enhancement projects, including paying for farm equipment, weed management and salaries for the seasonal workers who run its irrigation program.

This year, 136 bidders registered to snag 8,593 pounds of antlers, which was 1,080 pounds less than 2017 and over 500 pounds shy of the 10-year average of 9,138.

While this year’s $18.36 average price per pound fell short of last year’s record-setting $18.79 price, it was a 41 percent increase over the 10-year average price per pound of $12.98.

Beetle-cleaned skulls are always popular with bidders, but the highlight of the auction was a bidding war over a 7-by-7 large skull with ivories and long tines that sold for $7,500 after two parties went back and forth for several minutes.

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Casper man charged with sex assault seeks change of venue

CASPER (WNE) — Attorneys for a Casper businessman set to stand trial in November on a single charge alleging he sexually assaulted a woman last year have requested to move the case away from Casper, citing deep-seated local prejudice against Tony Cercy.

A jury acquitted Cercy on two counts of sexual assault in February and could not come to a consensus on a third charge, sparking a mistrial. District Attorney Mike Blonigen refiled the third-degree count in early March and Cercy’s legal team filed paperwork seeking a new venue on Friday, the deadline for such requests.

Friday’s filing focuses on “negative community sentiment,” media coverage of the case and a Wyoming statute that Cercy’s trial lawyers call unconstitutional.

Local attorney Ian Sandefer joined Denver attorneys Pamela Mackey and Jeff Pagliuca in arguing that Natrona County jurors are prejudiced against their client. The lawyers state “a substantial portion of jurors (called for the February trial) said they had a preconceived opinion about Mr. Cercy’s guilt before any evidence had been presented, and the bulk of these people had already decided Mr. Cercy was guilty.”

Blonigen, the defense team wrote, “injected unfair and inappropriate speculation about the first trial into the public realm.” A post-trial filing in the case that states the jury was strongly in favor of acquittal was untrue and violated a court order, the defense attorneys state.

The defense team wrote that prejudice against Cercy was exacerbated by extensive news coverage of the trial making it impossible to hold a fair trial in Natrona County. Reader comments on Star-Tribune social media posts indicate prejudice against Cercy, the defense lawyers state.

The defense team had filed a request for a change of venue before the first trial, but it was denied by Judge Daniel Forgey.

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Trial for Gillette man charged in December fire set for August

GILLETTE (WNE) — The Gillette man accused of setting fire to an East 12th Street apartment in December will stand trial this summer.

Shaun Sprague, 36, faces a charge of first-degree arson, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The fire destroyed the apartment, which was rented to Sprague’s brother, and damaged a nearby building. A handful of residents were displaced, but no one was hurt.

Sprague will have a pretrial hearing June 15 and will stand trial beginning Aug. 20, unless a plea agreement is reached beforehand.

Sprague remains in the Campbell County jail with a $150,000 cash-only bond.

He arrived in Gillette in early December to stay with his brother, who asked that he not use drugs while living at the apartment, according to court documents.

At one point, Sprague’s brother suspected he was using drugs and confronted him. Sprague then traveled to a hospital in Sturgis, South Dakota, where he hoped to receive treatment. He eventually returned to Gillette but was distressed to find out that he could not enter treatment until January, his brother told investigators.

On Christmas, Sprague fought with his mother, who later told investigators that he had made nonsensical statements and that she was worried about his drug use and mental health.

The next day, he tried to return an apartment key to his brother, who assured him he could stay at the apartment, court documents said.

Then on Dec. 27, a neighbor saw Sprague drive away from the building and shortly afterward noticed flames. A firefighter smelled gasoline when he arrived on scene.

A joint investigation by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, the Gillette Police Department, the Campbell County Fire Department and the state Fire Marshal’s Office culminated in Sprague’s arrest Dec. 29 in Talen, Oregon.