Following months of surveillance and investigation, state agents recently arrested a Cody man that they suspect was selling meth in the area.

Authorities say they caught Michael S. Hopper, 58, with a relatively large quantity of the drug and two firearms during a Jan. 11 traffic stop.

Hopper, who allegedly had 32 grams of meth in his pickup, has been charged with a felony count of possessing the drug with intent to distribute.

As of Wednesday, he remained in the Park County Detention Center, with bail set at $25,000 cash. Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Marina Tucker requested the higher bond amount based not only on the current allegations, but what she described as Hopper’s “very, very lengthy [criminal] history, including nine prior felonies.” Most of those earlier offenses related to drugs, Tucker said at a Jan. 12 hearing.

A narrative put together by Cody Police Officer and Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Special Agent Rick Tillery indicates that the current case has been in the making for some time. 

Tillery said in a court filing that three different people accused Hopper of selling meth between 2024 and 2025. Then in November, DCI reportedly had an informant buy 1.32 grams of meth from Hopper in a so-called “controlled purchase.”

DCI agents later obtained court permission to surveil Hopper and they tracked him as he made two trips to the home of a suspected drug distributor in Worland, Tillery’s affidavit says; a confidential source reported that Hopper made another trip to the home in early January.

On Jan. 9, the source told the agents that Hopper was “out of meth” and planning to travel to Worland again, Tillery wrote. Agents again surveilled Hopper and watched as he returned to the suspected supplier’s home on Jan. 10.

Tillery’s affidavit was used to obtain a search warrant for Hopper’s vehicle, and on the afternoon of Jan. 11, DCI agents and the Wyoming Highway Patrol moved in. They pulled Hopper over on the Greybull Highway, about 4 miles east of Cody.

Inside Hopper’s 1994 Dodge pickup, the officers reportedly found 32 grams of apparent meth — most of it in a plastic baggie decorated with skulls — digital scales, packaging material and drug paraphernalia, court records say. The agents also discovered two handguns — a Glock model 43 and a Ruger LCP — and a couple packages of THC edibles.

“The possession of these items were consistent with the sale and distribution of illegal drugs,” Tillery wrote in an affidavit supporting the felony charge.

DCI says the local street value for meth can reach $100 a gram, but the drug is much cheaper when purchased in larger quantities; Tillery’s affidavit suggests that an ounce, or roughly 28 grams, was recently available for around $500.

As part of their investigation, DCI also combed through a Cody storage unit where Hopper was alleged to have stored meth, and court records say they found additional THC product and drug paraphernalia.

A preliminary hearing on Hopper’s felony charge is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 22.