CASPER, Wyo. — A Natrona County man has been sentenced to four to eight years in prison for firing a gun at a vehicle with his estranged wife and her then-boyfriend inside.
“That you had the audacity to do it in the parking lot of [the Mills] police station is unfathomable,” Judge Josh Eames said when imposing the sentence on Friday, April 19.
40-year-old Brandon Waltrip had ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and battery.
The hearing began with testimony by the victim, who said she was never actually afraid of Waltrip and advocated for leniency.
The shooting in the Mills police station parking lot occurred on the night of Nov. 26, according to the affidavit. Waltrip had followed the couple in his vehicle as they pulled into the police station to seek safety, Chief Deputy District Attorney Blaine Nelson said at sentencing.
Waltrip’s attorney, Christina Cherni, said Waltrip believed his wife was being kidnapped at the time.
“He was heartbroken,” his former wife said of the incident.
Cherni characterized the shooting as a “discharge” and said that Waltrip had virtually no criminal history before the aggravated assault charges. He’d also turned himself in after Mills PD advised the public they were looking for him.
In May 2023, Mills police charged Waltrip with felony stalking for violating the no-contact rules that were part of court orders in the shooting case. Waltrip was accused of going to the woman’s house, throwing eggs and suitcases at the door and then destroying the door. The incident was surrounded by a series of irate and obscene text messages from Waltrip, police said.
Court records indicated the stalking case was dismissed as part of the plea agreement in the shooting case, in which the state had agreed to cap its argument at no more than five years in prison.
The state filed to invoke the cold plea provision, however, after Waltrip tested positive for drug use and submitted a forged COVID-19 diagnosis to probation officers.
Judge Eames noted these violations in his sentencing calculation, as well as the conduct and nature of the text messages in the case record, calling it “a textbook example of domestic violence.”
Waltrip’s mother told the judge that Waltrip was a diligent father and electrician who had never gotten into trouble until his peer group changed in 2020.
As of Friday, Waltrip had served 45 days on the case.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to identify Waltrip as a Natrona County resident, not a Mills resident.
