CASPER, Wyo. — Luke Thomas Young pleaded guilty to the first-degree murders of 27-year-old Kameron Young Johnson and 19-year-old Acacia Colvin in Natrona County last summer.
Young, 26, changed his plea in Natrona County District Court on Friday before Judge Josh Eames.
As part of a joint agreement with prosecutors, the state will ask for two life sentences. Young also pleaded guilty to felony assault for pointing a gun at a witness who came upon the murder scene on the night of Aug. 9, 2022.
As part of the agreement, Young has also agreed to give law enforcement the location of the firearm, which was not recovered.
Young gave a factual basis for his plea. He said he and the victims had been delivering fentanyl to Worland and had smoked methamphetamine on their way back to Casper. Young said he became agitated and wanted to get out.
“They were whispering about me in the front,” Young said. “I pulled out the gun and said to let me out. … He said, ‘You think that scares me?’ … I pulled the trigger.”
The vehicle pulled abruptly to the side of the road and Colvin got out screaming, according to the investigators’ report. As Young got out, he pointed the gun at a man on a motorcycle who had been behind the vehicle on Highway 20-26. The man sped away and called police, hearing the gunshots that killed Colvin.
Natrona County Sheriff John Harlin told Oil City News that the circumstances of the case concerning drug use and trafficking “resulted in this absolutely senseless crime.”
“Now the families have a little bit of closure, but that won’t bring their loved ones back.”
