In May, Park County Prosecuting Attorney Bryan Skoric backed out of a plea deal negotiated by one of his former deputies, contending it was too lenient for the felony drug case. But after taking a second look at the underlying facts, Skoric eventually decided to offer a lighter deal. 

The prosecutor said last week that the defendant, 30-year-old Audrey Biggica of Powell, should never have been charged with a felony.

The case stemmed from a September 2024 incident at the Maverik gas station in Powell. A staffer at the store reported that two people in a black SUV appeared to be engaged in drug activity, and responding Powell police officers found drug paraphernalia in the vehicle and a syringe loaded with methamphetamine in Biggica’s purse.

Officers arrested Biggica on a felony charge of possessing more than 0.3 grams of liquid meth while the SUV’s other occupant, 33-year-old Calvin Wick, was charged with a misdemeanor count of possession and a felony count of delivering meth or possessing it with intent to deliver; Biggica reportedly told police that Wick had given her the drugs, though he denied it, charging documents say.

After serving 59 days in jail, Wick entered the Park County Drug Court treatment program and Ezekiel 37 Ministries, a private sober living program in Cody.

Last spring, then-Deputy Park County Attorney Laura Newton agreed to dismiss the felony charge against Wick in exchange for his guilty plea to the misdemeanor possession charge. Wick was sentenced to one year of supervised probation in April.

The following month, Biggica was set to receive a similar deal: 18 months of supervised probation on a reduced, misdemeanor count of possession.

However, Deputy County Attorney Larry Eichele filled in for Newton at the scheduled sentencing hearing on May 8 and announced the office was backing out of the deal.

Biggica’s court-appointed attorney, Michelle Burns, was caught off-guard. She called on presiding District Court Judge Bill Simpson to order the state to honor its written, signed agreement.

The judge paused the debate for an unrelated hearing and asked the parties to return when it was over. However, Eichele misunderstood and wasn’t present when the discussion resumed.

Burns called herself “rather speechless,” saying she’d never experienced anything similar in her 26 years of practicing law. It appeared to be a “miscarriage of justice,” she said, and she asked the court to sentence Biggica in-line with the deal. Simpson directed the parties to submit briefs on the issue.

Contentious day of hearings

The clash was just one of several that day between Eichele and Simpson. The deputy prosecutor, who was filling in on multiple cases, grew frustrated after the judge called one case early and another that apparently wasn’t on the docket.

At one point during the May 8 proceedings, Eichele interrupted and told the judge he couldn’t continue speaking, because victims in that case hadn’t been notified that there was a hearing.

Simpson said the victims didn’t need to be present for the pretrial conference, adding, “don’t interrupt the court again. Do you understand?”

“No, I do not comprehend that,” Eichele responded. “When you are doing something that is improper, you must cease.”

Following the remark, Simpson abruptly called a break. Not long after he returned, the parties sparred over Biggica’s case and plea deal.

In a brief filed in July, Skoric noted a 2020 Wyoming Supreme Court decision that says prosecutors can back out of a deal up until a defendant enters a plea or “detrimentally relies” on the agreement. While public defender Burns argued her client had relied on the deal, Skoric disagreed.

The issue eventually became moot, as the parties struck a new deal that resulted in the case being sent back down to Park County Circuit Court.

‘The convoluted history’

Skoric later explained that, after doing some research and checking with Powell police, he learned the weight the department had recorded for the liquid meth “was wrong from the get-go.” In fact, the drugs weighed less than 0.3 grams and should never have been charged as felony possession, the prosecutor indicated.

Skoric ultimately agreed to reduce the length of Biggica’s supervised probation from the 18 months Newton had offered to 12 months. At a hearing in circuit court last week, Burns said the change was appropriate “in light of all the convoluted history.”

Burns noted that she had tried to point out the problems with the weight back in May. During that hearing, the defense attorney explained that Newton had offered the deal “because the state can’t prove that my client had possession of a felony amount.”

Burns said last week the delay was “certainly a frustration for my client … when this could have been resolved” months earlier. She mentioned in August that the pending felony charge had complicated Biggica’s search for housing.

“But,” Burns said last week, “I do appreciate that Mr. Skoric sat down and discussed the matter with me, took the proper steps to look into the matter, and then finally agreed that, yes, that was in fact what should have happened.”

Biggica served 56 days in jail before making bond. She successfully completed inpatient treatment and is now halfway through the Park County Drug Court program.

At last week’s hearing, Biggica said she “was definitely in the wrong” at the time of her arrest and offered thanks to both Burns and Skoric for reaching the deal.

“... I’m just really grateful I’ve been given the opportunity to do drug court and to have something that’s kept me so accountable, and to be able to just move forward with my life,” she said.

Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah praised Biggica’s attitude — and the agreement.

“This is a good resolution to this case,” Darrah said as he accepted the deal.

Continued disagreements

Meanwhile, there has been some continued friction between the county attorney’s office and Simpson in other matters. Late last month, Eichele challenged the judge’s specifications for pretrial memos, pleading his case to District Court Judge Dawnessa Snyder of Rawlins. Snyder directed the state to follow Simpson’s orders.

More significantly, the county attorney’s office and the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office are asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to overturn a sentence reduction that Simpson granted last month. The state contends the judge lacked the legal authority to revise a binding plea deal that he’d accepted and imposed last year.