Man caught in 'Ped Patrol' sting sentenced for solicitation of minor

Jun. 8—CHEYENNE — A Rock Springs man was sentenced on Monday in Laramie County District Court for soliciting a minor. The charge came last year after the man was caught in a sting by a Colorado civilian group dedicated to catching potential child sex abuse offenders.

Landon Lee Penrod, 36, received five years of probation, with a suspended sentence of four to five years in prison, from Laramie County District Judge Steven Sharpe.

The state, represented by the Laramie County District Attorney's Office, had argued for a four- to five-year prison sentence. Penrod and his attorney were free to argue for the sentence they deemed appropriate.

Penrod pleaded guilty March 14 to one count of soliciting to engage in illicit sexual relations, a felony. The state agreed to dismiss a second felony charge, sexual exploitation of a child (creating/receiving child pornography), as part of a plea agreement.

Penrod's appointed attorney, Ross McKelvey, said Penrod did not have a criminal history.

"This is certainly somebody who can lead a law-abiding life if they choose to," McKelvey said.

DA Leigh Anne Manlove had a different take on Penrod's lack of criminal history, calling it "very troubling, given the conduct."

"Essentially, he's been hiding in plain sight," Manlove said. "The state believes (Penrod) will continue to be a risk for every member of this community, but if he's incarcerated, he at least can't access our children."

The DA said she "couldn't disagree more" with a "cautious" recommendation from the Wyoming Department of Corrections for community supervision.

Penrod told the court: "I'm sorry for what I did, and I never meant for it to happen."

Judge Sharpe said the court is "always heavily influenced" by recommendations made by the authors of pre-sentencing reports. He said Penrod, given his lack of criminal history, appeared to be someone who could be supervised on probation.

Sharpe said five years of probation, longer than the typically required three years, "is warranted given the severity of the underlying crime."

The judge barred Penrod from any unsupervised conduct with anyone younger than 18 during his probation. Penrod is required to complete sex offender treatment, as well as other mental health evaluations and treatment.

'Ped Patrol'

At 11:38 a.m. on April 17, 2021, Cheyenne police officers were dispatched to a physical disturbance at a Sinclair gas station, 3306 W. College Drive. Penrod had been confronted by a man and woman while sitting in the driver's lounge.

The man, Thomas Fellows, runs "Colorado Ped Patrol," which apparently uses adults posing as children to try to catch potential child sex abuse offenders. The woman, named Celeste Hilton, had posed as a 13-year-old girl named "Cecelia" while talking with Penrod, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Fellows and Hilton had arranged for Penrod to drive from Rock Springs to Cheyenne to meet "Cecelia," who they'd said would arrive on a bus from the Denver area.

McKelvey and Manlove said during Monday's hearing that the confrontation was livestreamed on the group's YouTube channel.

Penrod admitted to the responding officer that he'd planned to meet "Cecelia," take her back to Rock Springs and adopt her, the affidavit said. He admitted to sending "Cecelia" sexually explicit photos, text messages and a video.

In a later interview with detectives, Penrod gave the same information and said he'd been talking to "Cecelia" for about two weeks. He said he'd planned to have a physical relationship with her.

Penrod told detectives he was attracted to young teenage girls and would ask them for photos when he was texting them, the affidavit said.

-n-

Also heard Monday in district court:

Guillermo Diaz-Quintor Jr. received a first-offender deferral for one count of felony possession of a weapon with intent, and he was placed on supervised probation for 18 months by Judge Sharpe. He also received six months of probation, with a suspended sentence of six months in jail, for a misdemeanor first offense domestic battery charge. The two sentences will run concurrently, or at the same time.

Diaz-Quintor pleaded no contest to both charges in February.

McKelvey, also Diaz-Quintor's appointed attorney, argued that Diaz-Quintor should receive 12 months of probation. McKelvey said he wanted his client to get through probation as quickly as possible for two reasons: to minimize the chance of his deferral being revoked and a felony charge being entered against him, and so Diaz-Quintor could move to Mexico to live with a family member.

In a brief statement to the court, Diaz-Quintor expressed a desire to complete his probation within one to two years.

In a plea agreement, the state had recommended 18 months of probation for Diaz-Quintor. Assistant DA Jonah Buckley told the court that "anything shy of three years on a (deferral) is sort of a gift from the court, anyway, and given the nature of this offense, 18 months seems more than fair."

At about 4:15 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2020, a deputy with the Laramie County Sheriff's Office responded to the 3200 block of South Greeley Highway for a violent behavioral issue. A woman told the deputy that her son, Diaz-Quintor, had punched her in the face and threatened her older son — Diaz-Quintor's brother — with a knife, according to a probable cause affidavit. Diaz-Quintor also apparently made threats to his brother, saying things like "What you gonna do" and "I'll kill you."

Diaz-Quintor eventually put the knife down when he was about two feet away from his brother, and he was found hiding in a bedroom closet when deputies arrived. The conflict stemmed from Diaz-Quintor telling his mother he was angry and felt "cooped up" because his mother wouldn't let him leave the house, the affidavit said.

Diaz-Quintor had a court order not to be in contact with his mother. The mother told deputies she allowed him to stay on her couch because he is her son.

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.