September 14, 2023 |
Photo – Mugshot Melvin Leon Bagley – Bigfoot99 file photo
More information has been released about the September 3rd shooting that occurred north of Rawlins.
Last Wednesday, 73-year-old Melvin Leon Bagley appeared in Carbon County Circuit Court to face six charges related to a September 3rd shooting incident. Bagley is charged with two counts of attempted second degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and battery, reckless driving, and reckless endangerment after he allegedly tried to shoot his nephew and his nephew’s wife. Bagley allegedly said the two victims were stealing money from him.
According to Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Timothy Howell’s written affidavit, on Sunday, September 3rd, the trooper was dispatched to mile marker 22 on Highway 287, north of Rawlins. Trooper Howell said two people were reported to have been shot and were allegedly being chased by the perpetrator. Howell said the victims told dispatch that the suspect was ramming them with his truck and continuing to fire at them as they attempted to escape in their vehicle.
While traveling to the location of the call, Trooper Howell said he spotted the victim’s silver pickup truck heading south on Highway 287 towards Rawlins. In his written statement, Howell said the driver, an unidentified male, was waving his blood covered arm out the window. Trooper Howell said he allowed the victims to continue towards an oncoming ambulance while he searched for the suspect’s blue Ford dually pickup.
Trooper Howell said he located the suspect’s vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road at mile post 16. The trooper said he took the driver, Melvin Leon Bagley, into custody.
In his written affidavit, Trooper Howell said Bagley accused the victims of stealing money from his bank account. Bagley said after confronting the victims, they laughed at him. Trooper Howell said Bagley admitted to opening fire on the two victims in an attempt to kill them. Trooper Howell said an agent from the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigations interviewed Bagley and was told the same story.
One of the victims, referred to as M.B. Jr in court documents, was flown to Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper. The second victim, known as S.M.B, was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Carbon County.
According to his written statement, Trooper Howell said S.M.B. informed him that her and M.B. Jr were feeding animals at their ranch on Highway 287. S.M.B. said Bagley suddenly pulled up and yelled, “Stop stealing my money.” S.M.B. said after she told Bagley that she wasn’t stealing money, the suspect opened fire on her vehicle. M.B. Jr retrieved a .22 caliber revolver and returned fire. Court documents indicate that Bagley shot M.B. Jr in the head and left hand. S.M.B was shot in the left shoulder and chest. Bagley was not hit.
Trooper Howell, in his court affidavit, said Rawlins Fire Fighter Paul Hardy assisted in the transport of both victims. Howell said Hardy told a Rawlins police officer that M.B. Jr was conscious and responsive when he was taken to Memorial Hospital.
The firefighter said a few minutes after arriving at the hospital, M.B. Jr’s condition suddenly declined, and he required intubation to push air in and out of his lungs. M.B. Jr was evacuated to Casper on a helicopter.
In Trooper Howell’s statement, he said M.B. Jr was shot twice in the right eyebrow, with at least one bullet exiting behind his right ear. The victim had also been shot in the left hand by his knuckles. An ER doctor treating the victim said M.B. Jr hadn’t sustained a skull fracture, but did have bleeding in his brain.
The second victim, S.M.B., was treated at Memorial Hospital. Trooper Howell’s statement said she was shot twice, once in the left shoulder above the collarbone and once in the right chest. The bullet that struck S.M.B,’s collarbone exited through her back. The second round impacted the victim’s right breast and exited through her right side.
In Trooper Howell’s written statement, he said at the time of the shooting, Bagley was living with his nephew, M.B. Jr, and his nephew’s wife, S.M.B, because he was allegedly suffering from dementia.
Bagley allegedly gave his nephew and his wife Power of Attorney over his finances because of health concerns.
Early in the summer, Bagley allegedly began to accuse his nephew and his wife of stealing money from his bank account. In June, Bagley moved into a 5th wheel trailer at 802 East Daley Street, Lot 12, in Rawlins. In court documents, S.M.B. said she made several reports to the Rawlins Police Department about Bagley’s declining mental health, but nothing was done. The two victims said they hadn’t seen or spoken to Bagley for a month before the attack.
In Trooper Howell’s statement, S.B.M. claims that Bagley had access to a 9mm handgun.
Bagley appeared in circuit court on September 6 and was represented by an attorney from the public defender’s office. The suspect is being held in the Carbon County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. If Bagley should be bailed out, he is ordered by the court not to have contact with M.B. Jr or S.M.B. Bagley will reappear in circuit court on Friday at 2:00pm.
