GILLETTE, Wyo. — Three men have been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with prosecutors alleging they beat another man, kidnapped him and abandoned him north of Gillette to die, Campbell County court records say.
Adan Oviedo-Rivera, Juan Enrique Gonzalez and Adrian Gonzalez-Oviedo will appear for a preliminary hearing in Circuit Court on Dec. 3 on charges consisting of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
Court documents state Oviedo-Rivera is also charged with felony property destruction while Enrique Gonzalez will face an additional felony charge of possessing a deadly weapon with unlawful intent.
The charges against the three men stem from a Nov. 24 incident where they are accused of having beaten a 36-year-old man, kidnapped him and left him approximately 30 miles north of Gillette after he escaped, according to affidavits of probable cause filed in the case.
Court documents state the initial assault happened after an argument sparked a wrestling match between Gonzalez-Oviedo and the 36-year-old. At one point, the 36-year-old was bent over and Oviedo-Rivera kicked him in the face. Soon after, all three individuals began punching and kicking him.
After approximately five minutes, the three defendants allegedly loaded the 36-year-old man in his vehicle, a Chevrolet Malibu, against his will and drove him north. At one point, Enrique-Gonzalez told the man they were going to kill him and leave him in a ditch and brandished a knife, the affidavits state.
The 36-year-old jumped from the vehicle near the Campbell County Landfill while it was slowing and was pursued by the three defendants. They then let him go, with one of them stating he would die out there anyway, per court documents.
According to the affidavits, the 36-year-old followed train tracks for 5 miles, moving south until he saw the Northeast Wyoming Regional Airport. He lay down at the airport and was called in as a potential homeless man to the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies found him and arranged for his transport to the hospital. Shortly after, they located his Chevrolet Malibu abandoned with broken windows on Little Powder River Road. They used the damage to secure a search warrant for the 36-year-old’s residence, where all three defendants were taken into custody, per court documents.
Oviedo-Rivera told deputies he witnessed the physical altercation between the 36-year-old man and Gonzalez-Oviedo and denied being involved. He said they initially returned the man’s vehicle to his home but later moved it to a ditch where they didn’t think it would be found. Oviedo-Rivera then said he broke out the windows but denied making any plans to kill the 36-year-old man, the affidavits state.
Enrique-Gonzalez told officers the 36-year-old got drunk after work and was verbally confrontational. He denied being involved in the initial altercation, claiming he only tried to break up the fight. Additionally, Enrique-Gonzalez told deputies he believed they were going to contact law enforcement after loading the 36-year-old man in the vehicle, the affidavits state.
According to court documents, Enrique-Gonzalez said he chased the man after his escape to keep him from running away. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t call law enforcement and denied threatening the 36-year-old with the knife or stating they were going to kill him.
Gonzalez-Oviedo claimed the 36-year-old had been making deadly threats and admitted to fighting with him at the residence. After the fight, he said the 36-year-old got into the vehicle on his own and they intended to take him far away from their home so he would get lost, per court documents.
The affidavit states Gonzalez-Oviedo admitted to leaving the 36-year-old man outside in the cold without proper attire knowing that it could have killed him. He denied planning to kill the 36-year-old man and said all he wanted to do was get the man away from the residence.
Court documents state all three defendants will appear for a preliminary hearing in Circuit Court on Dec. 3, when a judge will determine if there is sufficient probable cause to support further proceedings.
Felony conspiracy to commit first-degree murder is punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment without parole, a $10,000 fine or both, according to Wyoming State Statute.
