Gabriel Kampman

When a young man stole a truck from rural Powell last spring, authorities gave him a second chance.

At a September hearing, Park County District Court Judge Bill Simpson explained to Gabriel Kampman that the felony theft charge he was facing would be dismissed with three years of good behavior.

The judge urged the 19-year-old to “do the right thing” going forward.

“You don’t want to make another serious mistake like this,” Simpson said, “because the next time, I guarantee you won’t be as fortunate.”

Less than a week later, Kampman was caught with two stolen handguns in Greybull, and, as Simpson had suggested, the new crimes landed the Manderson resident in the state prison system.

Kampman pleaded guilty to two felony counts of theft in Big Horn County District Court in early January, and last week, the earlier felony from Park County was put on his permanent record.

He received four to eight years of prison time, but district judges in both counties recommended that he instead complete the Wyoming Department of Corrections’ Youthful Offender Treatment Program, colloquially known as boot camp. If Kampman does well with the program, he could potentially be released in about eight months and serve the rest of his sentence on probation.

Though Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Laura Newton agreed to the boot camp recommendation, she warned Thursday that she’ll expect Kampman to “serve a prison sentence immediately” if he violates his probation again.

Stolen truck

The cases started on the night of May 27, when Kampman stole a truck from a young Powell man who was riding horses with friends north of town. The young man had parked his 2019 Ford F-250 nearby when Kampman “ran up and got into the truck, starting it and driving it off of the property,” charging documents say.

A trooper with the Wyoming Highway Patrol spotted the stolen Ford at a Greybull gas station about an hour-and-a-half later. Kampman reportedly admitted to stealing the vehicle — and to having meth in his system and a small amount in his pocket.

He served a couple of months in jail and ultimately pleaded guilty or no contest to a few charges in Park and Big Horn counties. The Park County Attorney’s Office agreed to defer their prosecution on the most serious felony theft charge in favor of probation.

More trouble

However, on Sept. 24, just six days after the deal was finalized, Kampman got into a loud argument in Greybull and was arrested. Police determined the underage suspect was drunk and had two stolen pistols in his bag; the M&P Bodyguard 380 and a Glock 27 had reportedly been taken from parked vehicles in Greybull a few days earlier.

Kampman has remained in custody since then.

At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Simpson told Kampman that he needs to get things figured out, or else he’ll spend his formative years in prison.

“We’d all like to see you get some help. We’d all like to see you stay out of trouble and stop violating the law, but at some point it comes down to you,” the judge said. “Do you think you can make the right decisions moving forward?”

“Yes, sir,” Kampman said.