California Man Arrested For Cheyenne Coin Shop Murders In 2015

A 68-year-old  man was arrested on Tuesday morning in Siskiyou County, California in connection with a July 20, 2015, double homicide at a Cheyenne business.

Cheyenne Police Chief Mark Francisco identified the suspect as Douglas Smith of McCloud, California. Francisco says Smith is believed to be the person who made the 911 call reporting an armed robbery at the Coin Shop. When officers arrived at the business at 515 W. Lincolnway in downtown Cheyenne they found the business owner, 67-year-old Dwight Brockman, and his friend, 76-year-old George "Doc" Manley, shot to death.

Background Of Case

The killings happened just blocks from the Cheyenne Depot Plaza, where a Cheyenne Frontier Days Pancake Breakfast was just wrapping up. Large crowds were present in the area when police received a report of an armed robbery at the business.

Francisco says police believe that Smith was not a Cheyenne resident at the time of the killings, but he was working here.

Francisco declined to comment on the motive for the killings. He did say that Smith was arrested on two counts of first-degree-degree murder. Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl said it was not yet known whether Smith would attempt to fight extradition to Cheyenne to face the charges.

Cheyenne Police say a lot of work has been done just in the last couple fo years in connection with the case. According to the agency's Facebook page: Since 2023, over 1,500 hours have been spent working on the case. Hundreds of tips, emails, and letters have been reviewed. Additional warrant service operations and interviews were also conducted in California and Colorado with assistance from partnering law enforcement agencies. The cost for travel, testing, and examination during this time period is approximately $11,106.

Smith appears to bear little resemblance to police sketches of the suspect released soon after the killings. Francisco declined to comment on why that seems to be the case, citing the on-going investigation.