Casper Police Find Runaway Teen, Stolen Guns
A roadside investigation led Casper police to find an unidentified runaway teen, stolen guns and a felony amount of cocaine Tuesday.
That's according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Natrona County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Police arrested Montana residents Justen Kushner and Austin Taylor on Tuesday. Kushner is facing two felonies including delivery of a controlled substance - methamphetamine, possessing a felony weight of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.
Taylor is facing misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance - marijuana and wrongful taking or disposing of property charges.
According to the affidavit, a Casper police officer was on patrol in the 400 Block of East A street when he saw a maroon Ford SUV stalled out and blocking both lanes of travel.
The officer spoke with the driver, identified as Taylor, and could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle. The officer also identified a juvenile, who turned out to be a runaway teenager, in the SUV.
Taylor and Kushner both told police they had pistols in their waistbands, the affidavit alleges.
When officers searched the SUV, they found individually wrapped packages containing a white powder that tested presumptively positive for cocaine. Police also found methamphetamine in a "stash can" inside the vehicle.
The cocaine allegedly weighed 23 grams in total, according to the affidavit.
The search also turned up two rifles, several handguns and a shotgun. The two stolen rifles were stolen in a Sept. 26 auto burglary in Casper, the affidavit says.
Detectives spoke with Taylor who allegedly said they were on their way back to Montana from Cheyenne and were staying the night at a Casper hotel. Taylor told police that he found a party on SnapChat.
While at the party, according to the affidavit, several people said they wanted to go shooting.
After shooting on "state lands," Taylor allegedly asked everyone to store their guns in his vehicle because he'd heard that someone was recently shot at a house party. Taylor claimed he told everyone they could contact him the next day to come get their guns, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, Taylor had a woman he met on the online dating app Tinder drive him, the runaway and Kushner back to their hotel room where they stayed until the next day.
The affidavit says Kushner told police that he purchased cocaine and a .45 pistol from a man for $400.