SWEETWATER COUNTY – Rock Springs resident James “Jim” Verlin Johnson changed his plea to no contest to one felony count for his involvement in the theft of Cannon Oil and Gas (CO&G) equipment.
Johnson appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Richard Lavery Wednesday afternoon for a change of plea hearing, in which he changed his previous not guilty plea to a plea of no contest to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit theft. He was previously charged with one felony count of crimes against computer users, which was dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Per the proposed plea agreement, Johnson is to provide truthful testimony in the state’s case against Allen E. Meredith.
Prosecuting Attorney Hillary McKinney said the factual basis for this case is between October 15, 2021, and April 7, 2022, Johnson conspired with Meredith and David Jay Mansfield to allegedly commit theft of thousands of dollars of oilfield equipment from their former employer CO&G, to then use at Meredith’s new business Mountain West Energy Services once it was formed.
Sentencing will not take place for approximately two weeks, but Judge Lavery discussed using Wyoming Statute § 7-13-301 in Johnson’s sentencing, as he has no prior convictions. This statute states that if a person who has not previously been convicted of any felony pleads no contest to a felony or misdemeanor, the court may defer further proceedings and place the person on probation. Lavery explained that this statute can only be used once by an individual, and under this statute, Johnson cannot leave the state of Wyoming without permission from the court for the term of his probation.
The proposed plea agreement was seeking two years of unsupervised probation, as McKinney and Hampton said Johnson may be moving out of the state. However, Lavery questioned the unsupervised probation and said he will not grant Johnson permission to move out of the state under Wyoming Statute § 7-13-301. Judge Lavery said Johnson must stay in Wyoming for the length of his probation, and that he could not justify sentencing Johnson to probation if he was going to leave Wyoming.
After giving Johnson and Hampton time to discuss, Johnson entered his plea of no contest under the terms that he cannot move out of state for the duration of his probation, and he must provide truthful testimony in the case against Meredith.
Sentencing has not yet been scheduled, but it is to occur in about two weeks. Meredith and Mansfield are both currently awaiting trial for their respective cases.
Correction: This article has been updated to correct Hillary McKinney’s name.
