CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Judge Catherine R. Rogers rejected a plea agreement and sentenced David Broderick Jr. to 18–36 months in prison on Aug. 28 in Laramie County District Court. Broderick, 34, had been facing charges related to domestic violence and theft.
Broderick’s plea agreement, which was filed under Rule 11(e)(1)(B) of the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure, originally called for a more lenient sentence. Under this rule, the judge is not obligated to follow the recommendations and the defendant is not allowed to change his plea if the recommendations are rejected.
The agreement proposed that Broderick plead guilty to domestic battery and burglary, resulting in credit for time served on the domestic battery charge and a suspended prison sentence for the burglary charge in exchange for three years of probation. Additionally, the state agreed to dismiss the more severe charge of strangulation of a household member.
Broderick pleaded guilty to the domestic battery charge and the burglary charge in accordance with the plea agreement in April.
Broderick was sentenced to 139 days, the time served so far, on the domestic battery conviction, but Rodgers deviated from the plea agreement by imposing time with the Department of Corrections on the burglary conviction.
The charges against Broderick arose from two separate incidents. The first occurred on Dec. 2, 2023, when police responded to a domestic disturbance at the home Broderick shared with his wife. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Broderick allegedly strangled his wife during an argument, causing her to lose consciousness. The attack followed Broderick’s confrontation over communication with an ex-boyfriend on Facebook.
The second incident took place on March 9, 2024, when Broderick was implicated in a theft at the Round-Up Hotel, where he was previously employed, according to a separate affidavit. The hotel owner reported missing funds and reviewed security footage that identified Broderick as the thief. The video captured a man, later confirmed to be Broderick, entering the office, stealing cash and then leaving. This led to his arrest on March 15.
Under the plea deal, Broderick would have avoided the full weight of a potential 10-year sentence for burglary, instead serving probation. However, Judge Rogers rejected the agreement, stating she did not believe with his criminal history that Broderick was a good candidate for community supervision. In doing so, she sentenced Broderick to 18–36 months in prison, crediting him with 139 days of time served. The court also ordered Broderick to pay $4,000 in restitution.
