CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A 31-year old man was arrested by the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department today (August 3rd, 2020) and now faces charges of Burglary, Interference with a Peace Officer, Criminal Entry and Property Destruction following a standoff with authorities.
According to officials with the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, otherwise known as LCSO, at approximately 1016 hours today deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 5900 block of Ridge Rd for a report of a possible break-in.
” A neighbor called into dispatch reference a suspicious vehicle parked at the residence,” Lt. Mark A. Slovik, of the LCSO said.
According to Slovik, when deputies arrived it appeared as though there had been forced entry into the house and items had recently been loaded into the back of the vehicle.
The property owner arrived at the house and identified several items in the back of the pickup as having come from inside the residence.
“As it appeared to be an in-progress incident, deputies requested the assistance of Cheyenne Police Department (CPD) Officers and a CPD K-9 team to clear the house,” Slovik said.
According to authorities, during a search of the house, the suspect started to exit one of the doors of the house, but refused commands from deputies/officers on the perimeter and returned back inside the house where he climbed into the attic of the residence.
“The suspect continued to ignore multiple orders to come out of the attic. A chemical agent; Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray, was deployed into the attic and after a short time the suspect came out of the attic where he was taken into custody,” Slovik said.
The suspect was identified as Phillip L. Kaushagen, 31, from Wheatland Wyoming. Kaushagen was transported to the Cheyenne Regional Medical Center for precautionary measures.
Law enforcement says that Kaushagen was later cleared by the medical staff and booked into the Laramie County Detention Center on charges of Burglary, Interference with a Peace Officer, Criminal Entry and Property Destruction pending formal charges from the District Attorney’s Office.
