High-speed chase suspect’s bond set at $125,000

Posted 8/24/17

“That’s it?” the 36-year-old Cody resident asked when a prosecutor recommended his bond be set at a combined total of $150,000.

Earlier, he made a sarcastic argument to be released.

“I believe this person is not a threat to society at …

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High-speed chase suspect’s bond set at $125,000

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Faces 13 charges; uncooperative in court

Facing three felonies, 10 misdemeanors and the prospect of a lengthy stint behind bars for allegedly selling prescription drugs and leading police on a high-speed chase, Robert J. Pedro treated a Wednesday court hearing as if it was a joke.

“That’s it?” the 36-year-old Cody resident asked when a prosecutor recommended his bond be set at a combined total of $150,000.

Earlier, he made a sarcastic argument to be released.

“I believe this person is not a threat to society at all. I think he’s a very nice young man. He should be let free today,” said Pedro, who appeared via a live video feed from the jail after being uncooperative with staff.

“Very well said,” Circuit Court Judge Bruce Waters sarcastically replied.

The judge set Pedro’s bond at $125,000 cash.

Pedro is alleged to have sold five pills of the stimulant adderall and four pills of the tranquilizer clonazepam to a person who was working as an informant for the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The $150 transaction allegedly took place in the Blair’s parking lot in Powell on Feb. 27.

The Park County Attorney’s Office filed two felony charges of delivering a controlled substance over the alleged sale last week, and Waters issued a warrant for Pedro’s arrest.

Local police, looking to arrest Pedro on that warrant — and reportedly having received information that he might be bringing drugs from Cody to Powell — tried to pull him over on Sunday afternoon. Instead, a chase ensued that involved the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Powell Police Department and the Park County Sheriff’s Office, going through the City of Powell and its rural areas at high speeds. It ended only when Pedro crashed into Trooper Rodney Miears’ patrol car south of town, court records say.

For Sunday’s chase, prosecutors have charged Pedro with 11 counts: one felony count of aggravated assault — alleging he tried to use his vehicle as a deadly weapon by swerving toward Powell Police Officer Jason Pellegrino — and 10 misdemeanors. Those include three counts of reckless endangering, two counts of fleeing police, reckless driving, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (marijuana), driving with a suspended license, failure to stop at a stop sign and failure to report a crash.

“I think it’s only by the grace of God that someone wasn’t killed,” Deputy Park County Prosecuting Attorney Leda Pojman said, later adding that, “he endangered the lives of almost every single person in Park County.”

Endangering the lives of innocent civilian and police officers while trying to avoid being served with a warrant, “is unacceptable, it’s atrocious and warrants nothing less than a $150,000 cash only bond,” she said.

It was hard to make out portions of what Pojman said, because Pedro kept speaking over the top of her, mocking her and making noise.

“I think it was very well said except for the word atrocious. Atrocious?” Pedro said when he was given a chance to respond. “That’s about it.”

The exchange was just one part of Wednesday’s surreal hearing, in which Pedro at times laid his head down on his table at the jail as if to sleep, argued with detention deputies, lodged an “objection” to ask for a drink of water, refused to answer questions, told the judge he was taking too long and needed to have his ducks in a row, mocked Pojman and promised to bring jokes to his next court appearance.

Waters tolerated the disruptions on Wednesday, but warned that if it happened at another court appearance, he would order that deputies bind and gag Pedro to keep him mute.

“That may be your future if things don’t settle down the next time we see you,” the judge cautioned.

“OK, so no jokes next time? Is that what he said?” Pedro said.

Sunday’s pursuit started around 5 p.m. That’s when Trooper Rich Scovel spotted Pedro’s Ford Focus on U.S. Highway 14-A, heading toward Powell. Cody police had asked local agencies to stop the vehicle.

Scovel says in an affidavit included in court records that he turned on his lights to try pulling Pedro over. However, while Pedro dropped his speed from 72 to 67 mph, he didn’t pull over.

A Park County Sheriff’s deputy also attempted to stop the vehicle with his lights and Scovel pulled alongside it, but the vehicle kept going. Just outside Ralston, Scovel pulled in front of the Ford Focus while the deputy came in from behind.

“Just past the railroad tracks, the light blue Ford Focus appeared to stop,” Scovel wrote, but “Immediately he went in reverse and continued forward again.”

Area law enforcement agencies were then notified that a pursuit was in progress.

Pedro ultimately got onto Lane 9 and Powell Police Officer Jason Pellegrino tried to set up a spike strip to deflate the Ford’s tires just west of Road 10.

However, “I did not have enough time to unwrap enough cord for the spikes, so I threw them as far as I could — and the spikes only went halfway across the road,” Pellegrino wrote in another affidavit.

Apparently seeing that the strip only covered part of the road, Pedro “swerved back onto the south side of the road” and “went by me at a high rate of speed,” Pellegrino wrote.

In his description of the incident, Scovel wrote that, “the eluding vehicle changed lanes and headed straight for the Powell PD vehicle and officer at approximately 50 mph.”

“The eluding vehicle then cut back into the east lane of travel as the Powell officer jumped back to avoid being hit,” the trooper wrote.

The pursuit then continued within Powell city limits, going down many city streets.

“Multiple agencies ‘leap frogged’ in the pursuit as the eluding vehicle continued to cut down streets,” Scovel wrote.

At one point, Pedro allegedly slid through a corner and hit a patrol car driven by Officer Paul Sapp. Later, on North Street, Pedro reportedly hit 50 mph and nearly collided with a couple of civilian vehicles, Pellegrino wrote.

Pedro then allegedly sped out of town on Wyo. Highway 295 before going on several rural roads; Pellegrino said he was driving 96 mph on Lane 11 “with the suspect pulling away from me at a greater speed.”

Trooper Miears, one of the officers in pursuit, led the chase on Road 8. Near the end of Road 8, Miears wrote that he saw the Ford Focus flip a U-turn and head right for his patrol car. Miears said he slammed on his brakes and steered to the right; the front passenger sides of their two vehicles collided.

The officers then took Pedro into custody at gunpoint, ordering him to turn around and put his hands on his head.

“At one point, Pedro asked if he could just ‘have a smoke’ and then made a motion to reach into his pocket,” Pellegrino wrote. “We yelled at him again to keep his hands on top of his head.”

A partial marijuana cigarette was found under the driver’s seat of the Focus. Officers also found a powdery substance that they couldn’t identify; it’s going to be sent to the Wyoming State Crime Lab for testing, Scovel said.

Preliminary hearings in Pedro’s two cases are tentatively set for Wednesday, Aug. 30. Pedro said in court that he wants to represent himself.

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