The Wyoming Supreme Court this week ruled that dogs trained to detect drugs can sniff a vehicle’s exterior without probable cause.

The opinion by Chief Justice Kate M. Fox, released Wednesday, upholds a district court’s decision to deny the separate motions to suppress evidence by two defendants charged with multiple drug-related counts. Maria Anne Joseph and Jackson Elliot Tarzia argued that the canine sniffs of their vehicles’ exteriors took place without probable cause, and therefore, violated the Wyoming Constitution.

Attorneys argued a flurry of last-minute motions on Tuesday at the pretrial conference for a Greybull man accused of selling fentanyl-laced opioids that the victim’s mother said led to the death of her son the very same day.

Anthony Michael Fuentes has been charged with four felony counts in Big Horn County of delivering a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, as well as a misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance.

A Cheyenne man has been charged with distributing fentanyl after a dosage he sold earlier this year resulted in a young man’s death.

Shelby T. Girten, 27, was charged in U.S. District Court on Friday with distribution of fentanyl, a felony count that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

GILLETTE, Wyo.–The makeshift memorial caught Stacy Koester’s eye. She put on the brakes and inched her black Audi sports car backward along the gravel road to get a better look. A small wooden cross, adorned by a pink plastic carnation, was surrounded by a circle of rocks among craggy shrubs and cheat grass on the side of the hill at LAK Reservoir, outside Newcastle in Weston County.

A former correctional officer has admitted to having sexual contact with an inmate at Wyoming’s women’s prison in the fall of 2021.

A Fort Washakie man who threatened to murder an FBI agent last weekend waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Leo Barnaby II, 45, was arrested n April 30 and charged with threatening a federal law enforement officer, a felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Any time of day or night, any day of the year, help is always just a phone call away for those driving on Wyoming’s 6,800 miles of highway. Around the clock, dispatchers for the Wyoming Highway Patrol are standing by, prepared to facilitate a swift response to vehicle collisions, medical emergencies and more. It is this critical communication link that ensures emergency resources arrive at the right spot when they’re needed.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—It’s been 14 months since Irene Gakwa vanished without a trace. The only “person of interest” in her mysterious disappearance, as identified by police, is sitting in the general population at the Campbell County Detention Center and awaiting sentencing in June after admitting to stealing nearly $6,000 from Gakwa and deleting her email account after she went missing.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The sentencing date for the fiancé of Irene Gakwa, the missing Kenyan nursing student, has been set for June 14.

GILLETTE, Wyo.–A year ago, Stacy Koester never expected a Facebook post would change her life. The 39-year-old wife and mother of three teenage daughters already had her hands full with her family and job as an office manager at a local tire company.

LUSK, Wyo.–Lusk Police Department has zeroed in on an unnamed person of interest in the mysterious death of a 54-year-old Navy veteran.

A woman suspected of intentionally setting fire to an abortion clinic in Casper last spring was released on bond Tuesday by a federal judge.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The fiancé of a missing Kenyan woman pleaded guilty to three of the five felonies related to crimes against her in Campbell County District Court before District Judge James Michael Causey on Tuesday afternoon. As a result, Nathan Hightman’s bond was revoked, and he was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

A Casper woman accused of intentionally setting fire to an abortion clinic last spring appeared in court Thursday two days after her arrest.

GILLETTE, Wyo.—The fiancé of the missing Kenyan nursing student will change his plea in the felony charges related to his alleged financial crimes in the wake of her 2022 disappearance.

Nathan Hightman, 39, was charged for five felony crimes related to Irene Gakwa, 33, who has been missing since late February 2022.

In less than a year, the Wyoming Highway Patrol (WHP) has significantly expanded its cohort of fentanyl-detecting K-9s as use of the synthetic opioid soars in Wyoming and across the country.

A new podcast shines light on a 38-year-old Wyoming murder mystery while also exploring themes of memory, justice and much more.

The brother of a missing Kenyan nursing student marked the one-year anniversary of his sister’s disappearance with a trip to Cheyenne Friday. Kennedy Wainaina flew in from Boise, Idaho to hand deliver a petition to Gov. Mark Gordon, imploring him for help in seeking answers to her whereabouts.

Irene Gakwa, 33, was last seen on a video call with her parents in Kenya on Feb. 24, 2022 and was later reported missing by family on March 20. Gakwa moved to Gillette in July 2021 with her fiancé Nathan Hightman after meeting him on a Craigslist forum in Meridian, Idaho. She’d moved from Kenya in 2019 to be closer to her two older brothers.

Romance novelist and filmmaker Faleena Hopkins, who went missing for over two weeks, has been located in Kauai, Hawaii through the use of cell phone location tracking, according to the Jackson Police Department.

GILLETTE, Wyo.— Hands on Pottery owner Michele Thara created the mug design especially for Irene Gakwa. Standing before the front window of her ceramic studio Monday afternoon, as snow fell behind her, Thara pointed out the rainbow and heart, painted blue in Gakwa’s favorite color.