GREEN RIVER — Decisions matter, and the decisions Antonio Lee made that ultimately sent him to prison were highlighted during an argued sentencing hearing in front of District Court Judge Suzannah Robinson Thursday morning.

Lee was previously found guilty of two felony charges of attempting to disarm a peace officer and misdemeanor charges of interference with a peace officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession of oxycodone, and possession of marijuana at a jury trial that took place July 31. The main question Thursday was if Lee’s decisions March 4 and those he made that resulted in previous prison sentences were severe enough to have him serve his felony sentences consecutively or concurrently.

For Lee, the difference is five years of his life. The sentence guidelines for disarming a peace officer is a term of not more than five years in prison and an order to serve the sentence consecutively would mean up to a decade behind bars for Lee. The consecutive sentence was what the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office aimed for.

John Olson, a deputy county attorney prosecuting Lee’s case, told Robinson Lee’s attempt at taking sidearms from Rock Springs Police Officers Brandon LaPointe and Ruslan Kolb as the officers attempted to arrest him put not only Lee and the officers in danger, but also people nearby. Lee’s attempt at taking their guns was thwarted by a safety release lever on the officers’ holsters.

“The only thing preventing him … from making a far more chaotic scene was the lever,” Olson said.

Olson also highlighted Lee’s criminal past, which included convictions for violent felonies such as aggravated assault, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, should be considered as well. The conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery resulted in a 12-to-18-year prison sentence for Lee. He was granted parole after nine years and it was later revoked. Lee also had probation and parole for other previous convictions revoked multiple times.

Olson mentioned Lee attempted to portray his situation as like that of George Floyd, the black man murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020 in an incident which ultimately kicked off protests throughout the United States. However, Olson said the incidents were completely different, with the RSPD officers attempting to de-escalate the situation with Lee whenever they could as he continued to resist arrest and disarm officers. Lee at one point told officers to kill him.

“He made some very poor decisions that night – he has a price to pay,” Vaughn Neubauer, Lee’s defense attorney said. “I think this case calls for concurrent sentences.”

Neubauer argued Lee’s prison sentence should be served concurrently as the two felony charges took place during a single incident and because the only injuries that resulted were to Lee himself. Neubauer also said a similar case in Gillette resulted in a three-to-five-year prison sentence.

Following a short recess to consider whether the sentences should be concurrent or consecutive, Robinson opted to have Lee serve the felony sentences concurrently, sentencing him to a term of 54-60 months in the Wyoming State Penitentiary for both counts. For the misdemeanor charges, he was sentenced to 365 days in jail to be served concurrently with each other and was granted 223 days credit for time already served. The sentence for the two felony counts will be served consecutive to the misdemeanor counts and the 223 days credit for time served will not be applied to the felony counts.

Robinson said she believes the sentence should be severe, but the Wyoming Legislature is the body that imposed the five-year maximum sentence. She also said she agrees with the argument that the situation called for concurrent sentencing as the charges came from a single course of conduct. Robinson also said Lee poses a danger to the public and doesn’t view probation as an adequate option for this case.

Robinson also expressed hope that Lee would make better decisions in the future because his choices March 4 and prior to previous crimes victimized people. She also said if he had simply complied with the officers, he wouldn’t have been dealing with felony charges and the case would have remained in circuit court. Robinson also disagrees with Lee’s assertion that the officers escalated the situation.

“That’s something you put them through, not something they put you through,” she said.