City 1-5-22
District Court Judge Suzannah G. Robinson has issued an Order granting the City’s Petition regarding a criminal case that Laramie County District Attorney Leigh Anne Grant Manlove declined to prosecute.
Former City Attorney, Michael O’Donnell, filed a Petition on behalf of the Cheyenne Police Department asking the Attorney General’s office to review a sexual assault of a minor that occurred on August 30th, 2020. Shortly thereafter, current City Attorney, Stefanie Boster, filed an Amended Petition with the Court on September 13th, 2021 including additional documentation related to the underlying investigation. This information established that District Attorney Manlove received a probable cause affidavit on October 29th, 2020 from Cheyenne Police Department Investigator Allison Baca and a thirty-two (32) page investigative report on November 2nd, 2020. No action was taken by District Attorney Manlove until June 9th, 2021, when she sent a “declination of case” letter to Investigator Baca.
The Cheyenne Police Department responded with additional information and advocated for the immediate filing of charges. Since that time, District Attorney Manlove has failed and refused to file criminal charges against the suspect. A full day Evidentiary Hearing on the Amended Petition was scheduled for January 4th, 2022. However, on January 3rd, 2022, Judge Robinson entered an Order Granting the City’s Motion for Summary Judgment because the District Attorney had a conflict of interest resulting from pending formal charges filed by the Wyoming State Bar, and therefore could not prosecute the case.
Along with the Order, Judge Robinson also sent a letter to Attorney General Bridget Hall requesting that she investigate the underlying criminal matter, and, if advisable, act on behalf of the District Attorney’s Office by prosecuting the matter. The criminal matter is now before the Attorney General for review and investigation.