Southwest Wyoming SNAAG Drug Task Force Operation Nets 33 Arrests

Sweetwater County, WY.    –   A special provisional drug task force operation conceived by the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff’s Narcotics and Arrest Group (SNAAG) has resulted in 33 drug arrests.

Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell created the SNAAG team in 2015. SNAAG is a squad of county detectives created to disrupt and prevent street-level criminal activity through aggressive drug and drug trafficking enforcement, fugitive apprehension, and warrant service. Since its inception, SNAAG has been involved in a total of over 400 arrests and fugitive apprehensions.

“Earlier this year,” Lowell said, “the SNAAG unit came to me with a proposal for a provisional drug task force operation – one that would employ a coordinated strategy among all the law enforcement agencies in Sweetwater County for a set period of time. I approved it, and the payoff was over 30 arrests and 58 cases submitted to the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Our detectives did a fantastic job.”

“The County Attorney’s Office was on board with this operation from the very beginning,” Lowell said. “Their interaction was vital in making it a success.”

County detectives named the campaign “Operation Smack.”

The Rock Springs Police Department, (particularly the RSPD Street Crimes Unit), Green River Police Department, the Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol all participated at different levels and across a range of applications that included surveillance, undercover work, execution of search warrants, interviews, case coordination, and arrests. The majority of the cases involved methamphetamine, though possession and trafficking in other drugs was also involved.

Those arrested and their charges were identified as follows:

Leonard Bernal, Rock Springs, 55 Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Paul May, Rock Springs, 18 Possession of a Controlled Substance

Leroy Bernal, Reliance, 53 Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance

David Hardy, Rawlins, Wyoming, 60 Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Brian Allen, Rock Springs, 49 Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Michael Caron, Rock Springs, 20 Possession of a Controlled Substance

Elijah Black Thunder, 30, Agency Village, South Dakota Possession of a Controlled Substance

Dana Long, 37, Rock Springs Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Abigail Tallman, 21, Rock Springs Delivery of a Controlled Substance

Adam Rhodes, 34,
Mountain View, Wyoming Delivery of a Controlled Substance

Rodney Owens, 28, Green River Delivery of a Controlled Substance

Brittany Lacy, 25, McKinnon Delivery of a Controlled Substance

Macey Bright, 25, Reliance Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Matthew Johnson, 30, Reliance Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Michael Williams, 29, Rock Springs Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance

Corey Richardson, 50, Rock Springs Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Tina Waugh, 57, Rock Springs Conspiracy to Deliver a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Leslie McGuire, 39, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

Chase Siddoway, 35, West Valley City, Utah Possession of a Controlled Substance

Emory Cain, 20, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

Angel Quigley, 22, Green River Possession of a Controlled Substance

Seth Prime, 30, Green River Possession of a Controlled Substance

Hayley Fennell, 23, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

Jasinda Leturgey, 19, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

Kevin Rasmussen, 44, Green River Possession of a Controlled Substance

Chandler Peters, 20, Rock Springs Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance

Chelsea King, 25, Green River Delivery of a Controlled Substance

Jerry Romero, 42, Salt Lake City, Utah Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance

Wesley Carter, 32, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance, Endangering Children

Beverly Staten, 57, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

John Mortensen, 30, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

Kelin George, 20, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance, Endangering Children

Katie Clemens, 45, Rock Springs Possession of a Controlled Substance

“‘Operation Smack’ was a major success,” Lowell said, “And we want very much to explore the potential for future operations like it.”