A 68-year-old Evanston man is alleged to have traveled to Meeteetse and tried robbing his brothers at gunpoint last week, firing multiple shots in the process.

Brian Manderfeld is facing a stack of seven felony charges in connection with the July 16 altercation, including counts of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault and battery.

Manderfeld remained in the Park County Detention Center on Monday while he awaited further proceedings, with bail set at $500,000 cash.

“I don’t think that anybody could say with a straight face that Mr. Manderfeld is [not] a serious public safety hazard,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield said at a Friday hearing.

According to the narrative pieced together by the Park County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Clayton Creel, Manderfeld showed up at one brother’s Meeteetse home on the night of July 16. According to a statement the brother gave to the sheriff’s office, Manderfeld walked into the home armed, demanding money that he believed had been stolen from him.

The brother left his home and began walking down an alley, followed closely by Manderfeld, according to Creel’s summary. As they neared the Meeteetse Post Office, the brother said he heard three gunshots and saw a puff of dirt behind him; Manderfeld is quoted as later acknowledging to police that, “I think I fired a shot or two.”

The brother said he told Manderfeld he could sell off some motorcycles, but explained “he couldn’t get the money tonight because nothing is open so he’d have to go to the bank in the morning,” Creel summarized.

Those assurances seemed to calm Manderfeld, the brother said, and they parted ways. However, Manderfeld then allegedly tried breaking into another brother’s home a few blocks away.

The second brother said he heard some noise and found Manderfeld yelling and banging on his back door. When the brother went to call 911, Manderfeld “started shooting into his house,” the affidavit says.

Manderfeld allegedly told authorities later on that, “I’m pretty sure I shot the window out of the back door,” indicating he did so because the door was locked.

Manderfeld reportedly said he didn’t know where his brother was when he began shooting. 

Following the gunfire, a neighbor confronted Manderfeld and, after a lengthy conversation, was able to disarm him, the affidavit says. Personnel from the sheriff’s office, Cody police department and Wyoming Highway Patrol began arriving at the scene around 9:30 p.m. and they took Manderfeld into custody and searched the area.

The deputy noted bloodstained glass and five spent pistol casing lying on the ground near the back door, with damage to the interior walls and area around the rear entryway from the bullet. Manderfield had apparently cut his arm and was checked out at West Park Hospital in Cody before being taken to jail.

After the suspect was medically cleared, Cody Police Officer Trevor Budd questioned Manderfeld, asking what had caused the altercation; Manderfeld reportedly indicated that he’d been “betrayed.”

When asked at which point he decided to get out his guns, Manderfeld responded that it was, “I guess when I left Evanston.”

As for what he’d been planning to do with the weapons, he allegedly offered that, “I wanted to get their attention.”

Manderfeld faces two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and battery and possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.

“We are still endeavoring to determine whether there will be any more charges,” Hatfield said at Friday’s hearing in Park County Circuit Court. He indicated that investigators were analyzing bullet paths to determine if Manderfeld shot toward his brother when he fired through the door.

Manderfeld had alcohol in his system at the time of his arrest, charging documents say, and “there’s some question based on his level of intoxication whether any drugs may have played any part in this,” Hatfield said.

While Manderfeld has “almost no criminal history whatsoever,” Hatfield argued that the defendant “needs to be held on a high cash bond” given the seriousness of the allegations. 

Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah agreed with the prosecutor’s $500,000 recommendation, citing the circumstances and “the strength of the state’s case.”

“I know you are presumed innocent,” Darrah told Manderfeld, “but I still have to put some weight on the affidavit of the investigating officer here.”

A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for July 29.