SWEETWATER COUNTY — A Rock Springs man pleaded guilty for his part in the ongoing Cannon Oil & Gas (CO&G) case, and was given a plea agreement under the terms that he provide truthful testimony against the three other parties involved in the case.

Third Circuit Court Judge John Prokos accepted a plea agreement in the case of Ronald Keith Roy Friday morning, in which a one-year jail sentence was waived in favor of one year of supervised probation. Roy changed his previous not guilty plea to guilty for the misdemeanor charge of knowingly obstructing, impeding or interfering with a peace officer while engaged in the lawful performance of his official duties. This misdemeanor is punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both.

One count of accessory after the fact, a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than three years, a fine of not more than $3,000, or both, was dismissed.

The plea agreement is contingent upon the requirement that Roy assists the state in the prosecution of Allen Meredith, David Mansfield and James “Jim” Johnson, who are all charged with alleged felony crimes in this case. Roy is also required to pay a total of $520, including a $250 fine, $70 in court costs and $200 to the Wyoming Crime Victim Compensation fund.

Prosecuting attorney Hillary McKinney said Roy has made a proffer statement on video the state is relying on in the cases involving Meredith, Mansfield, and Johnson. Roy is required, as per his plea agreement, to cooperate with the state in all respects in these three ongoing cases.

Roy’s Involvement

In November 2021, Andrea Wilkinson, CO&G General Manager, flagged an invoice in the amount of $6,363 that was digitally signed by Meredith and hand wrote by him that the invoice was for the repair and maintenance on a CO&G truck at Roy’s company, Ron’s Ace Rentals. Roy confirmed that the work was actually for Meredith’s personal RV.

On April 15, 2022, Wilkinson reported to investigators that she received a check from Ron’s Ace Rentals with a note saying that after she inquired into the original invoice, they looked at the books and realized they double billed for the work on the motorhome. Wilkinson was given a check in the amount of $6,636 and the memo line read “Refund.”

Roy told a detective that he had done the work on the motorhome and initially assumed it belonged to CO&G, but later determined it belonged to Meredith. He stated he reimbursed CO&G before Meredith paid him cash to cover the amount. 

Throughout three interviews with investigators, Roy knowingly made contradictory statements to the detectives about when he received payment from Meredith. In an initial interview, Roy said he was paid in cash by Meredith on Nov. 18, 2021, and in a later interview with detectives, he said he was paid in April 2022. Judge Prokos pointed out that Meredith did not pay cash in November, but rather CO&G was billed for the work. Meredith did in fact pay for the work in April, which was after the investigation against him on his alleged theft from CO&G had begun. Prokos said the conflicting statements made by Roy obstructed and impeded with the investigation.

According to Roy’s attorney, Nathan Jeppsen, the payment date was the only discrepancy Roy knowingly made. Any other discrepancies were made unknowingly, he said.

In a victim impact statement, Elaine Cannon, owner of CO&G, said that her husband Richard Cannon died in a plane crash in October 2021, which left her as the sole owner of the company. She said that in her compromised state Roy made a conscious choice to help Meredith steal from her business. She said she believes Roy has shown no remorse and was only making this guilty plea for “self-preservation,” and for that reason, she hoped for him to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.

Wilkinson also made a victim impact statement stating that her parents always support small local businesses when they could, and one of those businesses was Ron’s Ace Rentals. She said Roy then helped steal from her parents’ business “and for what? For greed and the love of money.”

Heather Cannon, Elaine’s daughter, said that “while Mr. Roy is only a small puzzle piece of Mr. Meredith’s wrongdoings, he’s still a piece.”

Jeppsen said that the victim impact statements do not address the charges against Roy, as he did not steal from CO&G. He said that Roy protected Meredith during investigation by making one false claim. “That’s it.”

“He made a mistake, and he’s paying for it,” Jeppsen said.