Casper Police Capture Man Sought in Armed Standoff Last Month

Casper police early Sunday arrested a man wanted for multiple felonies and was believed to be barricaded in a house during an armed standoff last month.

Joshua Crook, 33, was located late Saturday night at a local motel and was booked into the Natrona County Detention Center at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to court documents.

The jail roster listed two criminal warrants, three counts of possession of controlled substances, and a hold for the Wyoming State Penitentiary.

Crook had been on the run for a while, especially after seven-hour armed standoff at Westridge Drive and 15th Street on Nov. 16, during which he escaped.

Monday, Crook heard the charges against him during his initial appearance before Natrona County Circuit Court Judge Michael Patchen, who had three separate files of charges.

The first file listed three misdemeanor counts of possession of three controlled substances -- methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl -- each punishable by up to one year in jail, Patchen said.

The second file listed one count of grand theft, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The affidavit accompanying that charge stated Crook stole a 2014 GMC Sierra on Aug. 29.

The third file listed four counts: aggravated assault (punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment), possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent (punishable by up to five years imprisonment); and misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and eluding law enforcement. According to the affidavit supporting that complaint, Crook took another man's girlfriend, drove her Dodge Dart and shot out of the window at the man who was following the car.

Patchen set Crook's bond at $2,500 for the misdemeanor drug counts, $20,000 for the grand theft, and $75,000 for the aggravated assault and related counts. Those cash or surety bonds were to be applied consecutively for a total of $100,000.

Authorities had been searching for Crook for several months and that quest ended Saturday night.

The affidavit supporting the criminal complaint says six Casper police officers learned Crook was possibly staying in a room at the Rodeway Inn at 20 Southeast Wyoming Boulevard.

They received consent to search the room, opened the door, saw Crook standing in the bathroom and commanded him to show them his hands and walk backwards toward them.

He held a small silver-colored container in his left hand and asked "'can I put this down, its drugs,'" according to the affidavit.

Crook there it on a bed, complied with officers' commands. was handcuffed and taken to patrol vehicle and further searched.

The search yielded small containers with substances that presumed positive for misdemeanor and user amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

Other people were involved in the hunt for Crook.

A suspect who helped Crook was arrested and charged for being an accessory after the fact and a third-time charge of possession of methamphetamine, which is a felony. Billy Martin was bound over to Natrona County District Court on Nov. 22.