Man In Armed Standoff West Of Casper Pleads Not Guilty
A man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of robbing an angler at gunpoint and engaging in an armed standoff in early June.
Zachary Lovelace entered the plea during his arraignment before Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey.
Lovelace, who was 37 when arrested, is charged with four counts of aggravated assault, one count of felony property destruction and one count of possession of a deadly weapon with unlawful intent. He could face up to 55 years in prison and up to $51,000 in fines if convicted on all charges.
He remains in custody. A trial date will be set later.
The case started June 2 when Lovelace allegedly approached a man who was fishing at the Bessemer Bend south fishing access, according to court documents.
Lovelace drove a pickup, got out, asked for the man's cell phone to make an emergency call, but returned to the pickup and drove away.
The man followed in his all-terrain vehicle, Lovelace drove the pickup in reverse to the man, pointed a handgun at him and ordered him to put his hands up.
The man waited until Lovelace drove away, went home, called his wife and called authorities. His wife tracked the stolen phone to the 6800 block of Sharrock Road.
Authorities went there, and Lovelace's mother said her son went into the attic of the house.
Officers pumped a chemical munition into the attic and Lovelace fire four shots from the attic to the general direction of officers.
After several hours, Lovelace punched a hole through a ceiling in a bedroom, crawled out a window, tried to run away but slipped. Officers then took him into custody.