
Hit-and-run suspect arrested at scene of another hit-and-run, gets felony drug charges
CASPER, Wyo. — The suspect who drove off after allegedly crashing into a chain-link fence on East 15th Street early last month was arrested at the scene of another hit-and-run on Jan. 16 after attempting to flee and being detained by a witness.
Phillip Campbell, 45, was on restricted felony probation in Laramie County and was not supposed to be in Casper, the Casper Police Department affidavit notes.
Around 8 a.m. Dec. 6, multiple witnesses called police to report the hit-and-run on the 1500 block of East 15th Street. They reported that a westbound Mercury was driving erratically and speeding up abruptly before crossing the oncoming lane of traffic, jumping the curb and striking the chain-link fence. They said the vehicle headed south at a high rate of speed.
Around 10:30 a.m., a man called to report that his vehicle, a 2008 Mercury Sable, had possibly been stolen. He said he had lent the vehicle, which needed repairs, to a friend. The arrangement was that the friend, later identified as Campbell, would make repairs to the vehicle in exchange for its use. The man also said Campbell was supposed to drive him to work that morning but Campbell never arrived and stopped answering calls. The man’s boss told him he should report the vehicle stolen, according to the affidavit.
The Sable was soon located abandoned — but parked legally — at the corner of East 22nd Street and South McKinley. The metal rail of the chain-link fence was sticking out of both the front and back window, and all the passenger-side windows were shattered, officers observed.
Police said the driver must have been short, due to the seat being very close to the steering wheel. They said it was lucky the driver had not been impaled by the pole.
The officer looked up Phillip’s file and observed that his height was 5-foot-2.
On Thursday, Jan. 16, police responded to the intersection of East 20th and South McKinley streets, where witnesses said a man had crashed into a parked car and then fled the scene. One witness chased the suspect and had him detained when officers arrived, the report said.
Campbell was arrested for leaving scene of an accident, having no liability insurance and driving on a revoked license. He reportedly did poorly on field sobriety tests at the jail, and a mostly empty bottle of Jim Beam whiskey was found on the passenger-side floorboard.
Multiple witnesses saw the suspect retrieve a black zippered pouch out of the vehicle before running, and the witness who detained Campbell led officers to where he’d seen Campbell leaning over a fence.
Officers retrieved the bag and found about 28 grams of suspected methamphetamine, which later tested presumptive positive. Smaller amounts of suspected meth were found in three small jeweler’s bags, and there were other empty sandwich bags.
Campbell was charged last Friday in circuit court with two drug felonies — one for possession in a felony weight and one for intent to distribute. He was also charged with DUI. Campbell was further charged twice with driving under suspension, driving without insurance, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident — once for the Dec. 6 allegations and once for the Jan. 16 incident.
Campbell was given a $15,000 cash or surety bond on the felony case, which was bound over to district court last Friday.
Campbell is presumed innocent unless proven or pleading guilty.
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