Posted: Saturday, December 13, 2008 12:00 am
Corn starch in suspicious letter
CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Highway Patrol says the powder contained in a suspicious envelope addressed to Gov. Dave Freudenthal has proven to be harmless corn starch.
Officers intercepted the letter at the Wyoming Capitol on Thursday.
Sgt. Stephen Townsend, spokesman for the Highway Patrol, said Friday that a Wyoming Department of Health laboratory determined the powder is corn starch.
Federal officials say that more than 30 such letters have been received at various state capitols around the country this week.
The Postal Inspection Service, which is working with the FBI, noted that sending hoax letters can result in up to five years in prison.
Threats lead to arrest
BILLINGS, Mont. - A Wyoming man has been charged with threatening the life of a federal prosecutor during another man's sentencing hearing.
James "Butch" Jellis of Sheridan was charged Thursday with making the threat after Franklin Bruce Plenty Hoops of Lodge Grass was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing a 5-year-old.
Prosecutors say after the sentencing hearing, Jellis looked at Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Suek and said, "I'll kill you, you bitch."
U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull ordered Jellis detained. Detention and preliminary hearings are scheduled for Monday.
Men plead not guilty
CHEYENNE - Two Cheyenne men have pleaded not guilty to felony charges that they shot the windows out of nearly 200 vehicles around the city last month.
Jared W. Barker, 18, and Nathan D. Connin, 19, are scheduled to go to trial in April on two counts each of felony property destruction.
Prosecutors charge that the men used a BB gun to shoot out the vehicle windows. Authorities say damage is estimated at about $47,000.
Both men are being held at the Laramie County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail.
Three other defendants in the case this week waived their right to have a judge decide if there's enough evidence for them to stand trial also.
Easement goes to conservation
JACKSON - More than 2,000 acres of a working ranch in the Green River valley of western Wyoming have been set aside for conservation.
The Conservation Fund says several public and private groups collaborated on buying the MJ Ranch property southeast of the Sublette County town of Boulder.
Along with The Conservation Fund, partners include the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the Wyoming Stock Growers Agricultural Land Trust.
The easement protects sagebrush grassland ideal for a variety of wildlife, including sage grouse, pronghorn antelope, burrowing owl, pygmy rabbit and white-tailed prairie dog. The ranch also borders critical moose winter habitat.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
Money for the purchase came from the Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resources Trust Fund.