SWEETWATER COUNTY — The jurors in the trial of Allen E. Meredith heard opening arguments Monday afternoon, and while the prosecution hope to prove Meredith’s guilt, the defense is arguing that this should not be a criminal case but rather a civil case.

“At the end of the day, ladies and gentleman, we believe this is a civil case. There’s no evidence of a crime being occurred here,” defense attorney Tom Rumpke said.

Meredith is being charged with three alleged crimes including one felony charge of conspiracy to commit theft, one felony charge of theft, and one felony charge of crimes against intellectual property.

Prosecution’s Opening Argument

Prosecuting attorney Micaela Lira said in the state’s opening argument that the jury will hear a lot about two companies, Cannon Oil and Gas, and Mountain West Energy Services. Meredith, who worked at Cannon Oil and Gas for over 38 years and served in the role of general manager, is being accused of allegedly stealing oilfield equipment and confidential documents to help start his own oil and gas company, Mountain West Energy Services.

Lira said there will be a lot of “distractions” throughout the trial, but she asked the jury to stay focused on the three counts Meredith has been charged with.

Background information was given on the case, including that Cannon Oil and Gas was owned by Robert Cannon, who served as the president of the company from 1978 up until his death in October 2021 when he died in a plane crash he was flying himself. After Robert’s death, his wife Elaine Cannon became the president of the company and began working on plans to sell the company.

According to Lira, testimony will be heard throughout the trial that there were conversations between the Cannon family and Meredith that he would buy the company, but the plans fell through. Then in February 2022, Meredith started Mountain West Energy Services, which was in direct competition with Cannon Oil and Gas. Lira said the jury will hear about several different pieces of equipment that were owned by Cannon Oil and Gas that were allegedly transported to Meredith’s property by Jim Johnson, who was in charge of transportation at Cannon Oil and Gas. Johnson previously pleaded no contest to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit theft on June 12 in this same case, and was sentenced to two years of probation, and agreed to provide testimony in Meredith’s trial.

Additionally, Lira said Meredith brought a motorhome to Ron’s Ace Rentals in Rock Springs to have air suppression installed, and that work was billed to Cannon Oil and Gas, and the Cannon Oil and Gas paid for it. They then received a refund check for it in 2022, and when Elaine Cannon looked into it, she learned that the work was allegedly done on a personal vehicle of Meredith’s, which was against company policy.

Lira also said that Andrea Wilkinson, daughter of Robert Cannon and the business lead for Cannon Oil and Gas, went looking on the company’s server for several different documents as they were planning to sell the company, however many documents were deleted or modified. The prosecution is alleging that documents were deleted and modified for the use of Mountain West Energy Services.

Defense’s Opening Argument

Defense attorney Rumpke said that the documents involved in the intellectual property charge are not actually intellectual property, and claimed that the IT professional who worked for both Cannon Oil and Gas and Mountain West Energy Services will provide testimony stating that Wilkinson had access to all of the records in question and that she had a habit of deleting files and calling the IT professional to restore them.

Addressing the motorhome, Rumpke said the motorhome was part of Cannon Oil and Gas and was used for tailgating. He said that when Meredith worked for Cannon Oil and Gas, charging any work done on the motorhome was fine, but when he left to start his own business the work previously done was no longer ok. He said that the charge was also paid for by Meredith, but Ron’s Ace Rentals forgot he paid in cash and erroneously billed Cannon Oil and Gas. Ronald Roy, of Ron’s Ace Rentals, pleaded guilty in October 2023 for the misdemeanor charge of knowingly obstructing, impeding or interfering with a peace officer while engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties, and received a plea agreement to serve one year of supervised probation in place of a one-year jail sentence. At that time, he also agreed to provide testimony in Meredith’s trial.

Rumpke also told the jury that there are a few items that the state is accusing Meredith of stealing that still have not been located, and therefore have not been found on Meredith’s property.

The defense said that as Robert Cannon’s nephew and a close family member, and with his management over the years at Cannon Oil and Gas, Meredith was the logical person to buy the company. When the sale fell through, Rumpke said that Meredith started his own business. According to Rumpke, he then purchased used oilfield equipment from a company out of Colorado, which Rumpke said most of the alleged stolen equipment found on Meredith’s property was actually purchased from this other company.

The trial has moved into witness testimonies with both Elaine Cannon and Andrea Wilkinson having taken the stand. The trial is slated to continue through November 8.