Posted: Monday, July 18, 2005 12:00 am
Witness faces murder charge
CHEYENNE - A man alleged to have watched the shooting and stabbing death of another man is now facing a charge that he was the one who wielded the knife.
Adam Maggos was initially accused of being an accessory after the fact of murder for allegedly driving his friend, Paul Mordahl, 28, to Laramie hours after Mordahl allegedly shot and stabbed James Scheschi, 28.
Police say the slaying occurred March 3 as the three sat in Scheschi's garage in east Cheyenne.
A bullet from a .38-caliber handgun took Scheschi's life, but the stab wounds contributed, court records show.
Maggos faces a preliminary hearing Friday on a charge of accessory before the fact.
In the days before Scheschi was murdered, Mordahl threatened Scheschi, who was pressuring him to pay a drug debt, authorities alleged.
After a confrontation at Goofy's Bar, Mordahl got in his car where Maggos was waiting, telling his friend, "That guy owes me dope and he's got my dope," according to court documents.
On Scheschi's invitation, the two followed him home. Mordahl allegedly told police he had had it with Scheschi, so he shot him.
Since then, Maggos has allegedly "admitted to a variety of individuals" that he stabbed Scheschi, court records show, prompting the new charge.
The former charge of accessory after the fact has been dropped.
Enzi works to counter bioterrorism
CHEYENNE - Congress must find ways to bolster the nation's defense against bioterrorism, Sen. Mike Enzi said during a hearing in Washington, D.C.
"At present, our pharmaceutical industry is not commercializing enough drugs to fight infectious diseases - whether they are spread naturally or the result of intentional or accidental man-made acts," the Wyoming Republican said during a round-table discussion last week.
Current law offers companies more incentive to develop relief from chronic diseases, he said.
"We must enact legislation that encourages new resources to be allocated to address the threat posed by infectious diseases," said Enzi, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Traps will track gypsy moths
CHEYENNE - Foresters have set up 173 traps in parks, parking lots and other public places around the state to track gypsy moths.
The moths have devastated deciduous forests in several northeastern states. But so far they don't seem to find Wyoming hospitable - and that's just fine with foresters.
Catherine Wissner, a horticulturist with University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension service, said now is a good time to check for gypsy moths because of the drought which parched the state starting in 1999.
"Trees take a long time to react to environmental stresses like drought," she said. "So these stressed trees are very susceptible to attacks from things like gypsy moths."
The traps contain imitation moth pheromones that convince male moths that females are inside.