Casper PD: Felon Arrested With Meth, Gun; Nearly Overdosed
Casper police on Monday arrested a convicted felon after he was found with a felony quantity of methamphetamine as well as a loaded handgun, which officers believe he tried to fire at them as they approached.
Eric Camron Phifer, 42, was booked into jail on recommended charges of possession of a firearm by a violent felon, felony possession of methamphetamine and interference.
Charging papers say officers responded to a home in the 3000 block of East First Street at 2:45 p.m. Monday after Phifer's mother called police and reported that he was having a mental breakdown, was possibly high on meth and believed that she was part of a prostitution ring in the city.
Once police were at the house, probation and parole agents arrived and said Phifer's probation was being revoked. Phifer was on probation, they told police, because of an incident in which he was allegedly high on meth and attacked his mother with a large sword.
Police searched Phifer's room and did not locate him, nor did they find him in the attic or on the roof.
With the homeowner's permission, officers continued to search the home and eventually made their way into the garage, which was "packed to the edges with clutter," according to an affidavit.
An officer climbed on top of a vehicle parked in the center of the garage, as that was the only way for him to move to the back of the garage. The officer then saw a head beneath the vehicle, and saw Phifer laying on the concrete underneath the car.
Phifer complied with police commands and was taken into custody.
Beneath the vehicle, where Phifer had been hiding, police found a loaded revolver. Three of the rounds in the revolver's cylinder had indentations from the gun's firing pin, but had not been discharged.
"Officers observed the revolver to be in a position where [Phifer] would have had access to it easily, if not in his hand," the affidavit reads in part. "Officers believed Eric had attempted to fire rounds at officers as they approached but due to the poor quality of the revolver, the rounds did not fire."
A search of Phifer's person allegedly turned up a needle, spoon and plastic tube presumably used to snort meth. Near the revolver, police say they found a suspected meth pipe and 10 grams of meth.
While being transported to the Natrona County Detention Center, Phifer gradually became "unaware and non-responsive," according to the affidavit, and began to make gagging noises as though he was throwing up. Phifer reportedly made a comment that he would not make it to the jail.
When the officer arrived at the jail with Phifer, Phifer was completely unresponsive. Nurses and deputies began to stabilize Phifer and called for EMS. Phifer was then taken to the emergency room at Wyoming Medical Center.
Phifer was "barely conscious and unresponsive during nearly all of the incident," according to an affidavit. He did not respond to sternal rubs and would "randomly wake up and yell he was in pain."
Emergency room doctors reportedly determined that Phifer had swallowed numerous pills, though they could not immediately determine the substance. Phifer stayed at the hospital overnight.