Man gets 4–8 years for shop theft; other suspects still at large

CASPER, Wyo. — A Natrona County man was sentenced to four to eight years in prison for burglarizing his employer’s shop and stealing thousands of dollars of equipment and goods.

In addition to the various sentimental items that were also stolen, the owner of the small construction business lost specialized tools that affected his ability to complete and take on contract work, Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson told Judge Dan Forgey at sentencing Monday morning. 

The case began on the morning of Jan. 31 when the owners of the construction business off Salt Creek Highway came back from out of town to discover the burglary and theft of various tools and property. These included a generator valued at almost $1,300, a $2,000 multi-purpose magnet drill, two flat-screen televisions and a red 2019 Ford truck, according to the report by Natrona County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Ken Jividen. 

Later in the day, after the investigation began, the truck was found abandoned at a church. One of the victimized business owners told the judge she believed Facebook communications with the pastor had ultimately prevented it from being permanently stolen.

“We still continue to find items missing,” she said, adding that a camper on the property had been burglarized and many valuables were found in piles, indicating the thieves meant to come back. She said the total loss to the business was about $10,000.

The other shop owner told Cpl. Jividen about a week later he suspected his former employee, William Brandon Watson, due to Watson texting his son demanding $1,000 in reward money to get some of the property back, according to the affidavit. 

The sheriff’s office went public with the case, seeking tips in late February. An anonymous caller spoke to Jividen and said Watson had not acted alone in the burglary, and that Watson had been complaining about not deleting his phone information from the stolen Ford’s Bluetooth system before ditching it.

Jividen got a warrant for Watson’s phone and was able to match its information to data stored in the truck’s SYNC module, which showed that Watson’s phone had connected to the Bluetooth system 10 times throughout the day on Jan. 31.

In a conversation with Jividen, Watson said at least two other people had been involved: one who helped with the burglary and one who bought some of the stolen goods.

Nelson told the court on Monday morning that Watson still refused to name those people, and they remain at large. 

“Usually in these cases that comes down to safety,” Watson’s public defender, Dylan Rosalez, said. 

“We are heartbroken that our trust was broken in such a heinous way,” the shop owner said in a statement that his wife read to the court. He said his business has been in operation for over 40 years and that he kept Watson on after numerous occasions to let him go.

Before reading her husband’s statement, she said, “I wish I was here under any circumstances besides this, because I liked Brandon.”

Watson ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of each of theft, burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.

Nelson asked the court to impose an eight-and-a-half- to 10-year sentence. 

Forgey imposed four to eight years. Watson had appeared in court while on bond was taken into custody of the sheriff’s office. He had turned himself in to the Natrona County Detention Center on April 11.

Watson is also ordered to pay $6,609 in restitution.