Cercy Trial Witnesses In Natrona County Jailed For Refusing Subpeonas
Two Natrona County men spent the weekend in jail after being arrested for avoiding for two months being served with subpoenas as witnesses in the upcoming sexual assault trial of Casper businessman Tony Cercy, according to court records.
Ryun Olson, 24, and Marcus Spurgin, 22, were arrested Friday after Natrona County Circuit Court issued bench and criminal warrants for the misdemeanor charges, according to affidavits filed by a sheriff's investigator.
They were still in custody during their initial appearances before Circuit Court Judge Steve Brown on Monday.
Spurgin's attorney Rich Jameson and Olson's attorney Anna Reeves-Olson entered not guilty pleas for their clients.
Jameson and Reeves-Olson also agreed with the district attorney's office recommendation that Spurgin and Olson be released on $5,000 personal recognizance bonds and that they not leave Natrona County before Cercy;s trial begins in Hot Springs County Court on Nov. 9.
Jameson said later that similar bonds and conditions will be set concurrently in the Cercy case in Natrona County District Court.
Olson and Spurgin were among dozens of witnesses who testified during Cercy's trial in February.
Cercy was acquitted of one count of first-degree sexual assault (rape) and one count of second-degree sexual assault of a then 20-year-old woman at his former home at Alcova Lake in June 2017. District Court Judge Daniel Forgey declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked on a count of third-degree sexual assault, and that retrial will happen in Thermopolis.
The affidavits say a district attorney victim witness coordinator tried at least five times to serve Spurgin and at least six times to serve Olson from Aug. 13 to Thursday.
When the coordinator initially contacted Spurgin in July, he responded the upcoming trial was a "'waste of his f-----g time'" and demanded to know who would pay his daily wages.
Spurgin and Olson said during separate phone calls that they lived in Texas and no longer had homes in Casper. Most phone calls were not returned or sent to full voice mail boxes.
However, Sheriff's officers determined that both worked for Altitude Energy Partners on Derrick Drive northwest of Casper, and that Olson and a home on Squaw Creek Road. Despite numerous vehicles at that residence on Sept. 18, no one answered the door when a sheriff's deputy again tried to serve the subpoena.
Thursday, two sheriff's investigators went to Altitude Energy Parters, where a secretary said Olson had just returned from lunch. As she was about to call Olson, Spurgin walked and told the investigators that Olson just left the building to make a sales call.
When asked if Olson or a supervisor was available, the secretary responded "'they aren't available.'"
One of the investigators spoke to Spurgin, who said he planed to work in Texas starting Friday, and the investigator told him to go to the sheriff's office so the subpoena could be given to him. Spurgin responded, "'I'll have to see if I actually have time for that.'"
That investigator contacted a sheriff's deputy to drive to the business and serve Spurgin with the subpoena. When he arrived, the secretary told the deputy Spurgin left for the day. A business employee told the deputy that Spurgin had a new address on Yellow Creek Road.
When the deputy arrived at that address, he saw fresh tire tracks but no one answered the door.
Meanwhile, Olson called the sheriff's office, and the investigator called back, according to the affidavit. "Olson was irate at the fact law enforcement went to his place of business and was 'harassing' individuals about the whereabouts of Olson."
The investigator told Olson that law enforcement was required to serve him the subpeone and that the district attorney's office was preparing an arrest warrant for him.
As of Friday, neither Spurgin nor Olson had accepted the subpeonas, and they were arrested about 3:30 p.m.