Kirt Raymond

Prosecutors say a Minnesota man led officers on a high speed chase west of Cody last week, endangering a Park County sheriff’s deputy and other drivers.

Kirt D. Raymond, 53, is alleged to have hit speeds of up to 100 mph, to have driven into oncoming traffic and to have nearly caused multiple crashes while fleeing from authorities on the North Fork Highway (U.S. Highway 14/16/20W). 

After a roughly half-hour pursuit that stretched from the Buffalo Bill Reservoir through Wapiti, into the Shoshone National Forest and back, Raymond was arrested late Wednesday night. He remained in custody on Monday, with bail set at $50,000.

During a Friday hearing in Park County Circuit Court, Deputy County Attorney Jack Hatfield argued that Raymond acted intentionally. Hatfield filed felony counts of attempting to cause bodily injury to a peace officer and aggravated fleeing police, alleging that Raymond attempted to injure the pursuing deputy and others. Raymond also faces misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances for a second time in 10 years — Hatfield said Raymond has three prior DUI convictions — and possession of THC (marijuana). 

“This is obviously intolerable behavior that is a clear public safety hazard: trying to injure other motorists, trying to hinder a peace officer who’s in flight, plus possession of controlled substance [and] his DUI history,” Hatfield said in arguing for the $50,000 bond.

As Raymond began to respond, Circuit Court Judge Joey Darrah cut him off.

“I suspect you’re about to tell me what did or didn’t happen or apologize or whatever,” Darrah said, noting that doing so would give up the defendant’s right to remain silent.

“These are serious charges,” the judge said. “And so … I’m gonna give you a warning that if you say anything about what happened in this case, it will be on tape and it will be used against you; I am confident of that. And it will be taken out of context.”

After receiving the warning, Raymond said that he is suffering from manic depression. The Hutchinson, Minnesota, resident indicated he is a military veteran and 100% disabled.

“I haven’t been taking my meds in over three to four weeks and I’m not doing right,” Raymond told the court. “I actually thought I was going towards South Dakota.”

Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Brown said in an affidavit that he spotted Raymond’s Audi A4 near the Buffalo Bill Reservoir at around 10:50 p.m. Wednesday, traveling west at about 74 mph in a 45 mph construction zone. A caller had already complained about the driver and Brown attempted to stop the car. However, “it appeared to me that the driver actually accelerated to a higher rate of speed through the construction zone,” Brown wrote.

The Audi pulled over a few miles later, but as Brown prepared to get out and approach the vehicle, he said the driver “immediately accelerated and swerved into the oncoming lane of traffic, narrowly missing another vehicle and almost causing a head-on collision.”

A pursuit followed at speeds of 80 to 100 mph, with the driver flashing his high beams at oncoming vehicles and flipping his hazards on and off. At one point, Brown wrote, “the driver slammed on the brakes in the middle of the road, almost striking a vehicle in the oncoming lane and almost causing my patrol truck to collide with the back of the car.” The deputy said he came to a stop with only about 5 feet to spare.

Raymond then sped off again. After the chase passed through the area around the Wapiti school, Brown said he was told to slow down due to safety concerns, and he temporarily lost sight of the Audi. However, the deputy soon spotted Raymond near the Shoshone National Forest boundary: The suspect had flipped around and was heading back toward Cody.

Raymond made it roughly to the western end of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir, where he ran over spike strips that had been laid by Deputy Tom Toohey. The Audi traveled nearly a mile further before coming to stop on the shoulder of the highway, the affidavit says.

Brown, Toohey and a trooper with the Wyoming Highway Patrol ordered Raymond out of his car and took him into custody without further trouble. A dog in the vehicle — which Raymond identified as his service animal — was taken to the Park County Animal Shelter for safekeeping.

At the time of his 11:30 p.m. arrest, Raymond smelled like alcohol, the affidavit says, and authorities found around 39 grams of marijuana edibles and a small amount of marijuana in plant form in the vehicle. The affidavit says Raymond provided a breath sample when he was booked into jail, but the affidavit does not list the results.

In addition to the DUI and possession charges, Brown initially issued Raymond misdemeanor citations for reckless driving and fleeing police. However, Hatfield upgraded those two counts to felonies, arguing that Raymond was “obviously attempting to injure someone” when he drove into the oncoming lane and that he was trying to hurt Brown when he stopped in the middle of the highway.

If Raymond posts $50,000, Judge Darrah barred him from driving while the case is pending and ordered him to stay in Park County, among other conditions. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for July 17.