Two Wyoming men facing felony charges each pleaded not guilty on all counts Tuesday in Albany County District Court.

Tie Siding resident Jon Barton, 31, faces four counts of burglary and one count of theft. If convicted, he could face up to 50 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Albany County Sheriff’s deputies investigated two burglary complaints on Nov. 23, both of which alleged thefts from the fireworks stand south of Laramie on US 287.
An anonymous tip reported through Crime Stoppers told deputies that Barton was breaking into storage units, siphoning gas from vehicles, stealing fireworks and attempting to sell those fireworks.

Deputies searched Barton’s remote cabin near Tie Siding and reportedly recovered roughly $20,000 worth of stolen property.

The next day, Detective Sergeant Robert Terry of the Laramie Police Department helped execute an amended search warrant at the same location. Law enforcement recovered two items used for cellular tower maintenance estimated to be worth $32,000.

Barton – who was being held at the detention center in Adams County, Colo. on unrelated charges – allegedly admitted to taking the equipment in a Nov. 24 police interview.

In District Court Tuesday, Judge Jeffrey Donnell continued Barton’s $10,000 cash bond which has not been paid.

Barton’s trial is scheduled for June 13 and 14.

Connor Huffman, 21, pleaded not guilty to one count of felony driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury and one misdemeanor reckless driving charge.

If convicted, Huffman could face up to 10 years, six months in prison and $5,750 in fines.

Court documents say an Albany County Sheriff’s deputy responded to the scene of an accident at 6:10 p.m. Nov. 26 on Halleck Ranch Road where one person had been injured. The deputy found a red Chevy pickup which had apparently hit a tree that fell into the road, before backing up and getting stuck in the snow.

Inside the pickup the deputy reportedly found a nearly empty whisky bottle and an empty beer bottle lying on the driver’s side floor amongst several empty beer cans.

The deputy spoke with Huffman who allegedly claimed to have slid off the road and hit a tree on his way home. The deputy noticed that Huffman appeared intoxicated, and the affidavit says a Breathalyzer test administered roughly three hours later reported Huffman’s breath alcohol content to be .143 percent.

The passenger of the pickup was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center with a broken right upper arm and a right shoulder fracture. The affidavit notes a possibility of the arm being amputated.

The passenger reportedly told police that Huffman was behind the wheel and had accelerated before fishtailing, losing control and striking the tree.

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