NEWS BRIEFS for Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022

Man sentenced to jail in Yellowstone assaults

CODY (WNE) — A California man was sentenced to nine months in jail on Jan. 5 for breaking out of restraints and assaulting and injuring two law enforcement officers at Yellowstone National Park.

Benjamin Bagala, 27, pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees and one count of depredation against property of the United States, for actions he took last September. Bagala also must pay $2,865.42 in restitution for damages he caused at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, one year supervised probation, during which time he will serve a ban from Yellowstone.

According to evidence provided by Yellowstone, Bagala was highly intoxicated, harassing guests, breaking things and approached a security guard in a threatening manner on Sept. 25. Bagala broke plexiglass shields, plates, doors and frames, damaged light fixtures, and caused blood splatter throughout the halls and lobby.

A law enforcement officer was called in, who Bagala ended up attacking. The officer had to deploy his taser to gain control of Bagala.

Bagala was determined to be injured and so intoxicated that an ambulance had to be called.

Two additional officers were called in, who started transporting Bagala to a hospital in Livingston, Mont. While in route, Bagala broke out of his restraints and started assaulting the officer who was in the back of the vehicle with him. The officer driving had to pull over to assist. Bagala injured both officers before the event was over.

This story was published on Jan. 20.

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Man detained after two hours on church roof

LARAMIE (WNE) — Laramie first responders negotiated with a man who climbed the outside of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Laramie on Wednesday afternoon for about two hours before the man was brought down from his perch on the church’s roof.

Police, the Laramie Fire Department and Wyoming Highway Patrol responded to the church at Ivinson Avenue and 3rd Street in downtown at about 3:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a man climbing the outside of the church. There were about six police cars, three fire trucks and an ambulance staged at the scene.

Police responded to the incident first and trained weapons at the man while commanding him to get down from the roof. The man, who did not appear to be armed, did not follow their commands and wrapped what appeared to be a rope or cable around his waist.

The man pushed away a ladder that was placed against the church to reach him multiple times. At another point, he threw phones off the roof that responders had placed there and smashed one of them.

The main downtown north-south corridor through Laramie, 3rd Street between University Avenue and Grand Avenue was closed for about two hours as the afternoon turned to dusk and temperatures dipped into the teens.

It’s not clear why the man, who appeared upset at times yelled at police, climbed the church. He was eventually coaxed into a fire department ladder truck bucket and brought down in restraints a little after 5:30 p.m. and loaded into the ambulance.

This story was published on Jan. 20.

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Almost $1M subsidy needed for air service between Cody, Denver

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POWELL (WNE) — The federal government is being asked to pay nearly $1 million per year to keep United Airlines flying between Cody and Denver in Yellowstone Regional Airport’s slower months.

From June through September, United flies at its own risk to Cody, but for years, it’s required a subsidy to serve the airport from October through May. Starting next fall, the airline says it will need $996,968 a year to keep offering twice-a-day flights to and from Denver. That’s up more than 18% from the current $841,000 subsidy offered through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Ankit Gupta, a senior vice president at United, said in a letter to the DOT that the higher subsidy was necessary “to operate sustainably between October and May in the face of a higher-cost environment going forward.”

“Resource constraints at United, in part caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but expected to persist into the intermediate future, contribute to the increase in operating and structural costs,” Gupta wrote, saying the increased subsidy “recognizes the economic reality” of serving Yellowstone Regional Airport’s off-peak months; it’s not unusual for passenger boardings to shrink to about a third of summer traffic.

The subsidies are offered through the DOT’s Essential Air Service program, which guarantees smaller airports like Cody a connection to a larger hub, like Denver.

On Tuesday, Park County commissioners agreed to sign a letter backing United’s request for the $996,968 annual subsidy.

“I don’t think we have a choice — we need to support this, we desperately need the essential air service here in Cody,” said Commissioner Joe Tilden.

This story was published on Jan. 20.

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Dispute over county commissioner heads to court

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Weston County Commissioner Tony Barton and concerned citizen Garrett Borton will have their day in court at a hearing on March 31.

Judge James Micheal Causey, will consider a motion by Barton’s lawyers to dismiss for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

As previously reported, the suit against Barton was filed on Oct. 26 by Borton.

According to court documents, Borton is seeking injunctive and declaratory relief concerning Barton’s qualification to function as a county commissioner.

Borton did not ask that Barton be removed from his seat on the commission, as previously reported by the News Letter Journal. He asked the judge for a temporary injunction, which per statute would be “a command to refrain from a particular act.”

In Barton’s case, this would mean that Barton would have to refrain from voting as an elected official and that he no longer would receive financial compensation from the county. The petition further asks for a permanent injunction in which the court grants the requested relief.

According to the documents filed on Nov. 18, Barton was elected on Nov. 6, 2018, by the voters of Weston County to serve a four-year term as commissioner and that the time to contest these results has lapsed. It further states that Barton took residency in Crook County on or about Oct. 29, 2020, and has continued to serve on the commission. His term ends on Jan. 2, 2023.

This story was published on Jan. 20.