Wesley Hammond

Stealing some old car batteries and getting caught with a small amount of meth typically aren’t the kind of crimes that result in prison time, but it can be a different story for repeat offenders.

In June, Powell resident Wesley A. Hammond received three to five years of prison time for theft and possession of a controlled substance. A prosecutor said the counts represented Hammond's 15th and 16th felony convictions, extending a criminal record that dates back to the 1980s.

Given that “level of criminality,” District Court Judge Bill Simpson said the three- to five-year sentence seemed to be “a very generous offer.” An apologetic Hammond agreed.

“My history is deplorable and it’s my everlasting shame that that’s been the events of my life,” the 58-year-old said amid tears.

However, Hammond said he had new hope as a result of recent events, including help from jail staff and the court.

“Before you today is a new person,” he told Simpson at the June 13 hearing, humbly thanking “the great State of Wyoming for what it’s doing for this man who did not merit it.”

Seeking life?

The amiable resolution to the case represented an abrupt turnaround for both Hammond and the state.

At a hearing a week earlier, Hammond had complained about how much time had passed before he was formally arraigned on the charges, noting he spent two months in jail while the case proceeded through circuit court.

“I don’t know how that fits in real well with how the statute is and how that’s going to work with the six-month due process/speedy trial,” Hammond said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Jack Hatfield told the court he intended “to see that [Hammond] spends the rest of his life in prison.”

But just a week later, the parties notified the court they’d reached a deal.

Hammond’s court-appointed defense attorney, Sarah Miles, indicated her client had received “a very difficult health diagnosis” the day the deal was finalized.

While Miles didn’t offer specifics, she said Hammond had “shown great courage and strength by coming before the court and taking accountability for the crimes that he committed.”

Earlier this year, Hatfield had cut Hammond some slack because of reported medical issues, agreeing for him to be released from custody while he faced a slew of misdemeanor cases in Park and Big Horn counties. It didn’t take long, however, for Hammond to get into more trouble.

Batteries and meth

Early on March 16, Hammond and another man pulled up behind Powell’s NAPA Auto Parts store, Sweet Automotive Inc. They quickly made off with 11 used car batteries worth about $18 each or $198 total, according to charging documents. But Hammond and his truck were caught on a newly installed security camera at the store, and his companion that night soon gave a confession.

After learning NAPA had surveillance footage of the theft, Hammond returned the items, but criminal charges were already in the works.

Under Wyoming law, stealing an item worth less than $1,000 is typically a misdemeanor offense that’s punishable by up to a year in jail. However, lawmakers amended the statute last year to say that, regardless of the value taken, a fifth or subsequent conviction for theft is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Hammond had eight prior theft convictions, according to the state.

Authorities arrested Hamond on the night of April 4, and his troubles grew when they found 1.5 grams of meth in his wallet. 

Possessing less than 3 grams is generally a misdemeanor offense, but even those small quantities can become a felony for a third or subsequent conviction. And Hammond had at least two prior drug convictions in Oregon, in 1998 and 2008.

When Hammond appeared on his new felony charges in early April, Hatfield noted his long criminal record and asked for bail to be set at $100,000 cash. Hammond asked to be given another chance — “I need some help,” he said — but Darrah adopted the prosecution’s recommendation.

Frustrated neighbors

Hammond was unable to post the large sum of cash. However, some of his neighbors apparently misunderstood Hammond’s multiple bonds and concluded that Darrah had released him.

In early May, a dozen residents of the Del Rio Road neighborhood wrote the judge a two-page letter complaining, incorrectly, that Hammond’s release raised “serious questions about the effectiveness and fairness of our justice system.”

In outlining their concerns, the neighbors said law enforcement had been called to Hammond’s residence over two dozen times.

“Our once-tranquil streets are now filled with fear and unease, with the specter of criminal activity looming over us at all times,” they wrote in part.

The signatories called it “disheartening to think that our judicial system, which is supposed to uphold justice and protect the innocent, could fail us in such a profound way.”

However, Hammond was unable to get out of jail following his April 4 arrest.

His defense attorney sought to have Hammond released in early June, so he could seek out drug treatment and employment. Hatfield opposed the request, referencing Hammond’s long criminal record and the neighbors’ letter.

“The public is extremely sick and tired of dealing with Mr. Hammond and all of the havoc that he wreaks,” Hatfield said.

In her own response to the letter, Miles offered that, “People cannot kick people out of a neighborhood, and that’s just not a thing.”

While the defense attorney said she could perhaps understand the neighbors’ perspective, “Mr. Hammond obviously has a right to live where he lives.”

Judge Simpson ultimately doubled Hammond’s bond to $200,000. At sentencing a week later, he ordered Hammond to spend his next few years living in a correctional facility.

‘This is it’

“Mr. Hammond, this is perhaps either the day where you finally figure it out after all these years, or you don’t,” Simpson said at the June 13 sentencing. “But for the help of society, and for the hope of the people you’ve tormented, stolen from and altered their lives and their personal fortunes, I would just ask that please, sir, you understand that this is it.”

Hammond told the court he understood.

“I sincerely and similarly ask the state and its citizens to accept my apology for my conduct and behavior and sin against,” he said, weeping. “I would like to think that someday, I may get a chance to get back to this great state, to Park County and to the citizens and pass on the miracle that has occurred for me today here in this court.”

Simpson thanked Hammond for his words, but cautioned the defendant that “your actions will truly prove the test of your will and your intentions.”

Hammond is being housed at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution in Torrington.