Aggravated vehicular homicide case moves to district court

Sep. 22—CHEYENNE — The case of a Cheyenne man facing an aggravated vehicular homicide charge has been bound over to Laramie County District Court.

Bryan R. Ciccone, 45, waived a preliminary hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday, automatically sending the felony case from circuit court to district court. Ciccone has been accused of striking with his vehicle on Aug. 22 a man who was walking along the side of East Lincolnway.

The pedestrian, identified in a probable cause affidavit as Anthony Gabriel, was 29 or 30 years old and died Aug. 28. An autopsy attributed Gabriel's death to "blunt force trauma to the head and neck due to being struck by a motor vehicle."

Although Ciccone was originally charged with DUI with serious bodily injury, the charge was amended following Gabriel's death.

Documents later filed in Laramie County Circuit Court charged Ciccone with aggravated vehicular homicide while driving under the influence — or, in the alternative, aggravated vehicular homicide while driving in a reckless manner. Both of these felony charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years and/or a $10,000 fine.

Ciccone appears to have posted a $10,000 cash bond on Aug. 23, following an initial appearance, according to court papers.

It was unclear as of Wednesday afternoon when Ciccone will be arraigned in district court.

District courts in Wyoming handle felony criminal cases, as well as juvenile and probate matters.

Incident

At about 5 p.m. on Aug. 22, an officer with the Cheyenne Police Department responded to the 3100 block of East Lincolnway, following a report of the incident.

The officer contacted Ciccone, who was standing in a grass shoulder about 30 feet from the road "inside of the tracks his vehicle created in the grass to the north of" East Lincolnway, a probable cause affidavit said. His vehicle had damage that was consistent with hitting a pedestrian, including "extensive damage" to the hood and a shattered windshield.

Ciccone reportedly told the officer he passed out while he was driving and hit someone walking along the side of the street, later identified as Gabriel. Ciccone said he woke up while driving in the field, with witnesses yelling that he hit a pedestrian, according to court documents. He said he'd just left work because he'd passed out while using the bathroom.

Ciccone told law enforcement that he'd smoked marijuana at about 8 a.m. He'd had "a 'big party'" the night before and smoked a lot of marijuana, and he was "not certain there were no other drugs in the marijuana he smoked at the party." He apparently did not pass on-scene sobriety tests.

An examination of Ciccone's vehicle found he'd "sped up before the collision" and struck Gabriel at 47 miles per hour.

Also bound over

A Colorado man charged with first-degree murder in a deadly Pine Bluffs shooting earlier this month also had his case bound over to Laramie County District Court.

Rodrigo Vigner Turcios Romero, also known as Yigner Rodrigo Turcios Romero, is either age 30 or 31, and is from Greeley, Colorado. His case was sent to district court following a Friday preliminary hearing, according to court records.

Turcios Romero is accused of shooting and killing Olvin Yonairo Montoya Ramirez, 37, also of Colorado, at a Pine Bluffs residence over Labor Day weekend. If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty.

An autopsy said Montoya died from a gunshot wound to the head.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Turcios Romero remained in custody at the Laramie County jail, according to a jail employee. Court papers show his bond was set at $500,000 cash at the Friday hearing.

It was unclear as of Wednesday afternoon when Turcios Romero will be arraigned in district court.

The shooting was one of a few violent incidents that took place around Labor Day weekend in Laramie County. Despite this, local law enforcement leaders said recently that the incidents likely don't indicate a larger trend of violence here.

Shooting

Deputies with the Laramie County Sheriff's Office were dispatched at 1:47 p.m. on Sept. 4 to the 300 block of County Road 161 in Pine Bluffs for a reported assault with a gun.

Deputies found Montoya in a detached garage with an apparent gunshot wound to the head, according to a probable cause affidavit. He was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where he died.

A witness said Turcios Romero had been visiting his home and the two had been drinking beer and talking about Turcios Romero's relationship issues. Montoya arrived later. The three apparently knew each other because they'd previously been co-workers.

The witness said Turcios Romero's girlfriend arrived at the home and "demanded" the keys to her vehicle from Turcios Romero, who gave them to her, and she "left at a high rate of speed." Following this incident, and after walking in and out of the garage a few times, Turcios Romero pulled a small handgun from his waistband and "said something like 'This is what you get' before shooting (Montoya) once," the affidavit says.

The witness then went inside his house, where he told his family to lock the doors and call 911. Turcios Romero reportedly went to the front door and yelled for his keys, which the man said he did not have, and he told Turcios Romero to leave. Turcios Romero continued walking around the property until he got on the man's son's bike and rode away, the man said.

Turcios Romero surrendered to law enforcement the following day, after hiding in a cornfield. He admitted to detectives that he'd shot Montoya. He said he didn't know why he did it, and that he'd only been thinking about shooting Montoya for about 15 to 20 minutes beforehand.

Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.