A Cody man is facing multiple criminal charges and an ongoing investigation after he allegedly stalked his ex-wife and — despite a court order to relinquish his firearms — kept a stash of guns, ammo and apparent homemade explosives at his home.

The pending cases against Randall T. Bailey, 64, stem from a Sunday morning incident in which he allegedly went to his former spouse’s home and burglarized her vehicle. As part of a prior protection order awarded to his ex, Bailey had been barred from going near her residence and from possessing any firearms or ammunition. However, when he was arrested Monday, Bailey reportedly had a stun gun in his jacket and a loaded revolver in his van. Then, a Wednesday search of Bailey’s home on Musser Road reportedly turned up another 10 firearms and two apparent improvised explosive devices.

While the suspected IEDs are still being investigated, prosecutors have already charged Bailey with two felonies and two misdemeanors related to the alleged burglary, protection order violations and noncompliance with Cody police.

At a Friday hearing, Park County Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah set Bailey’s bail at a combined total of $550,000 cash, citing “a huge public safety risk.”

Bailey’s defense attorney, Sam Krone, had argued that $50,000 cash was sufficient. Krone noted that his client has no criminal history and said bonds that high are typically reserved for “very serious, first-degree murder-type cases.”

In recommending a half-million dollar bond, Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Eichele acknowledged it was “an extraordinarily high amount, but these circumstances are extraordinary,” he said, calling Bailey “an extreme risk.”

Repeated complaints

Cody police say Sunday’s alleged burglary represented just the latest instance in which Bailey was suspected to have harassed his ex-wife or violated a protection order. An affidavit from one of the responding officers indicates that, over the past two years, Cody police have handled 10 cases related to alleged violations.

The officer quoted the “visibly upset” woman as saying she was “tired of dealing with this and having to deal with this for so long.”

Court records say that in January 2023 — just days after she had Bailey served with divorce papers — the woman was driving when her phone alerted her that an Apple Air Tag was nearby. She called police, who eventually found one of the wireless, location-tracking devices attached to the bottom of her vehicle.

“…  it was so thoughtfully placed and camouflaged that it took 15-20 minutes, with the aid of sound from the device, for law enforcement to discover it,” District Court Judge Bobbi Overfield later summarized in a ruling.

The woman filed for an order of protection, testifying that Bailey was the only one who could have placed the Air Tag on her vehicle.

At a late January 2023 hearing, Judge Darrah appeared to agree, concluding that, “no one has that motivation other than Mr. Bailey to do this.”

The judge also noted another incident at the Cody Recreation Center, in which Bailey was alleged to have repeatedly walked past his wife while she was working out and to have stared at her while she swam in the pool.
Bailey denied the allegations, calling them “baseless,” but Darrah said he didn’t find Bailey’s testimony to be credible. When looking at all the circumstances, the judge concluded that Bailey intended to harass his ex and granted the protection order.

Bailey appealed to district court, but Overfield affirmed Darrah’s decision.

Judge Overfield also presided over the couple’s divorce trial, which brought an end to their 17-year marriage. While it wasn’t a major part of the divorce proceedings, Overfield wrote in a September 2023 decision that Bailey had “proved through the protection order proceedings that he had difficulty leaving [his ex] alone and letting her move forward with her life.”

The Park County Attorney’s Office also filed a misdemeanor criminal charge, alleging that Bailey had violated the initial protection order. 

In early January 2023, Bailey had been ordered to stay away from the Cody rec center during his then-wife’s typical workout times, but later that month, charging documents say she spotted him hiding behind the employee desk.

Bailey’s criminal case was at one point scheduled for a “change of plea and sentencing hearing,” but the county attorney’s office dropped the case in November 2023.

Making an arrest

Meanwhile, Cody police say they continued to receive complaints that Bailey was violating his ex-wife’s protection order. The most recent came Sunday morning, when the woman called in something of a panic.

According to charging documents, the woman’s surveillance camera captured a man pulling up in front of her home around 5:30 a.m. Both the woman and a friend told police that, based on his stature and gait, they were sure the man was Bailey.

The footage reportedly shows the man trying the handle of a vehicle belonging to the woman’s boyfriend, then rummaging through her vehicle and taking something.

The woman cried as she spoke with police, the affidavit says, telling them, “I don’t ever feel safe anymore.”
Cody Police Officer Rachel Boydston concluded that Bailey had intended to harass the woman and to place her under surveillance.

“Randall [Bailey]’s blatant disregard for the boundaries clearly set in the order of protection would cause any reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress or fear for their safety,” Boydston wrote in an affidavit.

After being unable to contact Bailey on Sunday, officers pulled him over Monday morning, shortly after he dropped the couple’s children off at his ex’s home. According to Boydston’s account, Bailey refused to get out of his van and the incident escalated to where police came “close” to breaking out Bailey’s driver’s side window. However, after what Boydston described as a seventh request, Bailey exited his vehicle and was arrested.

A stun gun was found in the front pocket of Bailey’s jacket, the affidavit says. And when police later searched his van, they reportedly found his ex-wife’s employee ID badge stored in the center console and a fully loaded Ruger .357 revolver wrapped inside a T-shirt and located inside a compartment in the trunk.

Searching the home

At the time of his divorce last year, Bailey was estimated to have about 70 guns. Following Monday’s arrest, Cody police suspected they’d find more evidence of stalking and harassment at his home.

Officers obtained search warrants for Bailey’s residence on Musser Road, which they executed with the help of the Park County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.

Although Darrah had prohibited Bailey form possessing guns and ammo back in April, authorities allegedly found eight rifles and two handguns — including one with “a homemade suppressor type item” — plus “thousands of rounds of ammunition,” Boydston wrote. She said they also located a dash camera, a pocket recorder camera, Apple Air Tags, Tile brand trackers and game cameras.

The search took a turn when a sheriff’s investigator spotted what he believed to be improvised explosive devices in Bailey’s garage. Measuring about 6 inches long, the two items were made from gray PVC pipe, with white caps on the end and a green fuse near the middle, Boydston wrote. Because Cody recently decommissioned its bomb squad, a regional team was summoned from Casper, along with federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives personnel.

An ongoing investigation

The Park County Detention Center’s online inmate roster indicates that Bailey is being held on a felony count of possessing an explosive device with unlawful intent, but as of Friday, he had not been charged with that offense or any others related to the apparent explosives.

In a Thursday interview, Cody Police Lt. Juston Wead said authorities were still working to verify that the items are actual explosive devices.

“All indications lead us to believe that they probably are, but we haven't confirmed it yet,” Wead said. In a Friday release the department said the investigation into the explosives “remains ongoing.”

In the meantime, Bailey has been charged with a felony count of stalking, a felony count of burglary, a misdemeanor count of interference with a peace officer and a misdemeanor count of violating an order of protection. His next court hearing is tentatively set for Wednesday afternoon.