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.”