Greybull resident sentenced for meth, fentanyl crimes in Natrona County

CASPER, Wyo. — A resident of Greybull, Wyoming, got a three-and-a-half- to seven-year sentence from a Natrona County judge on Tuesday after law enforcement found 0.89 pounds of methamphetamine and about 200 fentanyl pills hidden under the hood of his truck in Casper last year.

Joel Tisdale Anderson, 29, changed his plea and was sentenced by video from the Wyoming State Penitentiary, where he is already serving a three- to five-year sentence for drug possession out of Big Horn County.

Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation agents began monitoring Anderson last year and installed a tracker on his Ford F-350 in mid-April, according to the affidavit.  Investigators said he was making trips to Colorado and selling meth and fentanyl along the Interstate 25 corridor between Colorado and his native Big Horn County.

On April 30, Casper police pulled Anderson over in east Casper near Ridley’s Grocery store after noting that he had a warrant, a CPD affidavit said. As more officers arrived Anderson got increasingly nervous and sped off. A short time later, he was spotted nearby on foot carrying a tan backpack. An officer gave chase and found Anderson in a backyard hiding behind an air conditioning unit, where he was arrested. A K-9 unit helped to find the backpack, which Anderson had ditched in a neighboring yard.

About 26 grams of methamphetamine and seven fentanyl pills were found in the backpack.

Anderson bonded out of jail but agents were able to complete a warranted download of his phone and found evidence that he had been distributing meth and fentanyl throughout Wyoming, the affidavit said.

On May 9, agents tracked Anderson in his vehicle back to Colorado, where he made several stops before returning to Wyoming the next day. Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers and Natrona County Sheriff’s Office deputies attempted a traffic stop on the pickup once it entered Natrona County, but Anderson fled and the pursuit was called off for public safety.

The tracker showed that Anderson got off the interstate and drove up to 80 mph down East 2nd Street in Casper before abandoning the vehicle at an apartment complex and disappearing on foot.

Law enforcement arrived at the apartments within minutes and found the 0.89 pounds of meth and 200 fentanyl pills tucked in the air intake underneath the hood.

Anderson was arrested again in Greybull five days later, according to court records.

Anderson ultimately pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl with intent to distribute in Natrona County. His attorney, Bailey Lazarri, said the agreed-upon sentence was the result of negotiations between herself and district attorneys in both Big Horn and Natrona counties, and that the sentence would run at the same time as his current three- to five-year sentence.

“First and foremost, I apologize to my parents,” Anderson told Judge Johnson before sentencing. “I’m truly blessed to have the family I have.”

Anderson said he’d been injured when he was younger and became addicted to painkillers, touching off his criminal behavior. He said that his drug dealing was “unacceptable.”

“Sobriety is something I have to want more than anything and it’s something I work on every day,” he said.