A Casper man has been arrested and booked into jail on recommended charges of Robbery, after police say that the suspect escaped from a treatment facility and stole a vehicle from a Casper motorist.
Casper police affidavits say that officers responded to the call just before 9:00 pm on May 30th. The alleged victim telling officers that he was rushed, shortly after exiting his vehicle, by the suspect. The suspect, who appeared to the victim to have a gun, demanded the keys to the vehicle, and threatened the life of the alleged victim if he didn’t cooperate.
The suspect left in the stolen vehicle, which was found at the Eastgate Travel Plaza in Natrona County later Tuesday night.
The Casper Police Department, the Evansville Police Department, the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol worked in tandem, setting up a perimeter around the Travel Plaza. Working on information gathered from witnesses and employees at the Travel Plaza, law enforcement was able to take the suspect into custody.
Officers identified the man as 35-year-old Jason Billings of Sheridan, Wyoming. Billings is described in police paperwork as bing cooperative and courteous with officers, and was carrying a plastic shopping bag containing various items like a bottle of water, an open package of socks, a plastic spoon, a note pad from the Holiday Inn, and a green apple.
In an interview, police say that Billings claimed to have devised and executed a plan to escape from the Wyoming Behavioral Institute, where Billings claimed to be involuntarily committed. After escaping the facility, Billings says he saw the alleged victim exiting his vehicle, whereupon Billings confronted the man and took the car.
Police say that Billings’ plan was to sever ties in the community and had stopped to fuel the vehicle, but became stranded when he locked the keys inside the stolen car. Billings was then contacted by police and taken into custody.
It was reported that after police questioning, the suspect asked for pen and paper, and began writing an apology letter to the individuals involved.
Charges in any criminal case are subject to change, and any suspect is presumed innocent until otherwise proven in court.
