Evansville man charged with eight felonies after crash in stolen vehicle

CASPER, Wyo. — An Evansville man was charged with eight felonies after a Friday-night pursuit in a stolen vehicle that resulted in a crash.

Ryan Kyle Bressler, 41, was reportedly taken to Banner Wyoming Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries and appeared in Natrona County Circuit Court on Monday.

Bressler is presumed innocent unless proven or pleading guilty.

On Friday evening, multiple people called to report seeing a vehicle that they’d earlier seen on Facebook as reported stolen, according to Casper Police Department spokesperson Amber Freestone. Around 7:44 p.m., a responding Casper police officer located the vehicle in the parking lot of the Eastridge Mall.

Freestone said the vehicle immediately fled, driving over a median and against traffic as it exited onto East 2nd Street. Freestone said the officer terminated the pursuit per internal policy, but a ranking Evansville Police Department officer pursued.

The suspect vehicle reportedly struck the Common Cents sign on Southeast Wyoming Boulevard as it turned onto Legion Lane. It crashed into a storage facility as it tried to turn north on Walsh Drive.

Freestone said Bressler was the only occupant.

Eluding is typically a misdemeanor, but Bressler has two counts with felony enhancements: one for being a subsequent offense and once for allegedly attempting to cause injury to an officer. Bressler is charged with three counts of felony property destruction: one for the Common Cents sign, one for the storage facility and one for the stolen vehicle that ended up on its side.

Bressler is further charged with DUI and driving under suspension. He is also charged with two counts of theft over $1,000. One is for the stolen vehicle, and the other relates to a separate case from October involving a hotel.

Bond was set at $50,000 cash only.