Wyoming gunman who shot two men was ‘hunting’ for homeless people: prosecutor

By David Ferguson, Rawstory

A Riverton, Wyoming man reportedly broke into a detox center over the weekend and shot two sleeping men in the head, killing one, because he was tired of cleaning up after homeless people.

The Associated Press reported that Roy Clyde, a 32-year-old city parks employee, was resentful of the homeless people he has to clean up after as part of his daily duties.

Riverton Police Department spokesman Capt. Eric Murphy told the AP that Clyde snuck into the Center of Hope recovery facility and shot the two men as they slept. Clyde is a 13-year city employee and was apparently acting out of rage at people known as “park rangers,” Native Americans who leave nearby Wind River Indian Reservation — where drinking is illegal — to drink in the city’s public parks.

“(B)asically he was angry at that, and that’s what precipitated him to go and do this violent act,” Murphy said.

After shooting the men, Clyde called police on himself and surrendered when they arrived, not far from Center of Hope.

Murphy told the AP that neither of the two victims nor anyone else at Center of Hope is currently homeless. The recovery center specializes in detox and addiction therapy and serves recovering people from all walks of life.

Wind River Reservation is home to both Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Native Americans. A spokesperson for the reservation said that both of the shooting victims were Northern Arapaho.

Clyde told police that he was specifically targeting “park rangers” and would have gunned down anyone he met who matched that description, but that whether they were white or Native American was immaterial.

Murphy told the AP that police bring all kinds of people with substance abuse problems to Center of Hope.

“They have different levels of treatment,” he said. “If they encounter somebody who’s intoxicated, they can take them there for the evening until they sober up.”

Prosecutor Patrick LeBrun argued for no bond in the case on Monday, accusing Clyde of going “hunting for people.”

“There’s no other way to say it,” he said.

Team with 17 Mile Road Project to receive award

Team members of the 17 Mile Road Project included, from left, Leticia Black of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Colette Friday, Nadine Vasquez and Wildene Trosper all of the Shoshone and Arapaho Department of Transportation. Photo provided by WyDOT
Team members of the 17 Mile Road Project included, from left, Leticia Black of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and Colette Friday, Nadine Vasquez and Wildene Trosper all of the Shoshone and Arapaho Department of Transportation. Photo provided by WyDOT

By The Ranger staff reports

The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s 17 Mile Road Project Team will be recognized with a national award for its work on right-of-way issues during the final reconstruction on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials will recognize this group of state and federal workers and Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal transportation officials with the 2014 Federal Highway Administration Excellence in Right-of-Way Leadership Honorable Mention Award.

The following individuals were recognized for their work: Kevin Lebeda of Cheyenne of WyDOT, Letitia Black of Bureau of Indian Affairs, Howard Brown of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT, Wildene Trosper of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT, Colette Friday of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT, Nadine Vasquez of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT, Nicole Brown of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT, Emily Underwood of Shoshone and Arapaho DOT.

WyDOT’s Right-of-Way Program in Cheyenne, Shoshone and Arapaho Department of Transportation, and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs also were honored.

“Leadership qualities were magnified by everyone on the team,” said Tim Payne of Northern Engineering and Consulting of Arapahoe, who wrote the award nomination. “In order for all right-of-way issues to be resolved, every individual at one time or another spent a remarkable amount of energy, effort, perseverance and commitment to the greater good of the team.”

Award winners will be recognized during the AASHTO Subcommittee on Right-of-Way, Utilities, and Outdoor Advertising Council Control conference April 27 to May 1 in Salt Lake City.

“The FHWA Excellence in Right-of-Way Awards recognizes outstanding innovations that enhance the right-of-way professional’s ability to meet the challenges associated with acquiring real property for federal-aid projects,” said Gloria M. Shephard, associate administrator for planning, environmental and realty with the Federal Highway Administration in Washington, D.C.