Man Arrested for Burglaries During Badger Creek Fire
A man has been arrested and charged by Albany County Sheriffs as the culprit in a series of burglaries during the June 2018 Badger Creek fire.
During the fire, which affected the Medicine Bow area west of Laramie, Albany County Emergency Management ordered evacuations of residents along Wyoming Highway 10 to include Woods Landing and Jelm Mountain between the dates of June 11-18.
While the areas were evacuated, Albany County Sheriff's Office received three reports of burglaries - two at private residences and one at a business - resulting in loss of money, several firearms, jewelry, personal items and an ATV.
One of the firearms was reported pawned in Steamboat Springs, Colo. with the shop records showing the item pawned by 34-year-old Colorado resident Jayce Peterson.
Using an FBI offline search, it was determined that Peterson’s vehicle had been marked as abandoned by the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office near the state line on Wyoming Highway 10, which had been closed during the evacuation time.
Reports also came from Jackson County Sheriff’s Office that verified contact with Peterson in his vehicle on Wyoming Highway 230, near the west side of the evacuation area during that same time-frame.
Peterson was arrested and extradited back to Albany County.
Peterson admitted his involvement in the burglaries and disclosed the location of the stolen ATV, which was recovered and returned to the owners.
Peterson has been charged with the felony criminal offenses of aggravated burglary, accessory before the fact to burglary, and theft. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment in District Court on December 20, 2018 at 3:00 p.m.