TUESDAY, October 6, 2026|
Photo – Carbon County Law Enforcement Officers pose with US Attorney for District of Wyoming – Courtesy Rawlins Police Department
Forty‑eight‑year‑old Denny Jason Shrove, of Rawlins, and six others were sentenced for running a statewide methamphetamine trafficking ring.
On Friday, October 2nd, United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming Darin Smith announced that Denny Jason Shrove, and his six co-conspirators, were sentenced in federal court last week for what he described as “a major drug trafficking organization that flooded Wyoming communities with methamphetamine”.
According to the Department of Justice, Shove and his six accomplices would collect the drugs in Colorado and bring them back into Wyoming to sell in Natrona, Campbell, Laramie, Albany, and Carbon counties. A DOJ media release stated that “Shrove alone was responsible for distributing at least 23 pounds of methamphetamine in Wyoming.”
Shrove was arrested on January 23rd, 2026, following a year-long investigation. He pleaded guilty to distribution of methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and was sentenced to 216 months, or 18 years, in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Shrove’s six co‑conspirators were also sentenced in federal court last week: Alysha Dahl and Bryan Hackleman both received twelve and a half years in prison and five years of supervised release; Cainen Taylor received 140 months and eight years of supervised release; Nicole Phipps was sentenced to 133 months and five years of supervised release; Gregory McCoy received 11 years in prison and five years of supervised release; and Jonathan Burton was sentenced to 100 months in prison and five years of supervised release.
The Department of Justice reported that “dozens” of other individuals tied to the organization have also been charged in their respective state courts.
The case was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative targeting illegal immigration, cartel activity, transnational criminal organizations, and violent crime. The investigation was led by the Wyoming Department of Criminal Investigation with support from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, and multiple state and local agencies across Wyoming and Colorado.
