ROCK SPRINGS — A 29-year-old Rock Springs man faces up to 10 years in prison for stealing a vehicle and then wrecking it after a police chase through town back in October.

Garrett Wayne Maheu was facing 15 charges after his initial arrest through a combined effort by the Rock Springs Police Department and Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office. The crimes carried a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison, 2 1/2 years in the Sweetwater County Detention Center and over $48,000 in fines after he pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in January.

Maheu and his attorneys entered into a plea agreement with the state to drop all but three charges in the case which include felony theft, felony property defacement and misdemeanor driving under the influence.

Four pre-sentence investigations were conducted in the case, according to Maheu’s attorney Alexander Ramos. Maheu told the court that he had reviewed parts of those reports with his other attorney, Edwin Wall, but hadn’t gone through all of them thoroughly.

Third District Court Judge Suzannah Robinson said she was reluctant to hand down a sentence at the change of plea hearing last week until Maheu had read the PSI reports in their entirety.

High-Speed Chase

Maheu told the court that on the day of the incident he was walking down Dewar Drive near Jimmy John’s restaurant when he noticed a Volkswagon unoccupied and running in the parking lot. He said he was under the influence of methamphetamine and alcohol at the time.

“I got in it and I took it,” Maheu told Robinson.

Maheu said he was planning to park the vehicle and leave it in the Walmart parking lot when he noticed a law enforcement officer behind him. He said he “got in a chase with the officers and then I crashed the vehicle into another vehicle.”

Maheu also said he didn’t know the owner of the vehicle, and he planned to simply park the vehicle and walk away. He also confirmed that the stolen vehicle was worth more than $1,000, and the damage to the Toyota Camry he hit was more than $1,000.

Sentencing

Maheu’s hearing resumed this afternoon and he was sentenced to no less than five nor more than 10 years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary for the felony theft count. A similar sentenced for the felony property defacement count was suspended, and the misdemeanor sentence of 180 days in the Sweetwater County Detention Facility has already been served.

Wall argued for probation on the charges, but Robinson said Maheu’s past criminal history, including time spent in jail right before he was arrested in this case, did not warrant probation.

Maheu was also ordered to pay $8,909 in restitution and must complete a high-intensity substance rehabilitation as part of the deal.