Activity in the United States Attorney's Office

Firearm Offenses

James Paul Stokes, age 49, of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on April 18, 2023, for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The government requested 46 months’ imprisonment. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced Stokes to 33 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Stokes was fined $250 and charged a $100 special assessment. The crime was investigated by the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Griswold prosecuted the case.

Steven Robert Venjohn, age 34, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced to 41 months in prison with three years of supervised release for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. Venjohn’s sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson on April 17, 2023, and included a $100 special assessment. According to court records, on November 30, 2022, officers discovered Venjohn asleep in his vehicle behind the steering wheel and discovered a white substance on the driver’s seat that tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Officers also found a Ruger Wrangler .22 caliber revolver on the rear driver’s side floorboard. The crime was investigated by the Casper Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Coppom prosecuted the case.

Lance James Talbot, age 44, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced on April 11, 2023, for being a felon in possession of ammunition. After an evidentiary hearing, the court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Talbot had used .40 caliber ammunition to shoot a victim in Cheyenne. The government requested 71 months’ imprisonment.  Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl sentenced Talbot to 57 months in prison with three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.  According to court documents, Talbot was arrested on March 16, 2022, when officers were dispatched to investigate a shooting in Cheyenne. The victim had been shot in the leg, had head injuries consistent with blunt force trauma, and identified Talbot as the attacker. Security camera footage showed Talbot at the residence during the time of the shooting. Officers located and arrested Talbot, obtained a search warrant, and conducted a search of Talbot’s residence. There, officers found .40 caliber ammunition, which matched a spent casing at the scene of the shooting. The Cheyenne Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the crime and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Coppom prosecuted the case.

Mail Theft

Lacey Katherine Tolman, age 36, of Afton, Wyoming, was sentenced on April 18, 2023, to 18 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment for mail theft. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl handed down the sentence. According to court records, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office served a burglary search warrant on Tolman’s residence in Afton and located a large quantity of stolen U.S. mail and packages, including 40 checks with a total face value of $27,249.97. Lacey was taken into custody and pleaded guilty to the sole count of the indictment. This crime was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Elmore.