September 5, 2023 |
Photo – Wyatt Fluty mugshot – Bigfoot99 file photo
The manhunt for Wyatt Fluty ended with a police-involved shooting during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
Two weeks ago, Wyatt Fluty was arrested in Sturgis, South Dakota. Fluty was sought by the Rawlins Police Department for the July 27th theft of a vehicle from the Rawlins Municipal Airport.
On August 9th, Fluty was involved in a shoot-out with law enforcement officers during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Fluty allegedly opened fire on a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper. The officer was not injured, but Fluty was hit by return fire. His injuries were not life threatening.
The incident was caught on video by a motorcyclist in town for the annual bike rally. The video starts in the middle of the encounter between Fluty and the trooper. It shows Fluty behind the steering wheel of the cruiser as a trooper approaches the vehicle aiming his service revolver.
According to the South Dakota news website, Hub City Radio, Fluty is facing six charges. Fluty is charged with two counts of attempted first degree murder, one for the officer and the other for an unidentified private citizen.
Fluty is also charged with commission of a felony with a firearm, attempted grand theft, unauthorized ingestion of a controlled substance, and illegally being in possession of a firearm with a prior felony.
Fluty will face a 50-year prison sentence if convicted of the attempted first-degree murder of the state trooper.
Fluty appeared in a Meade County circuit courtroom last Thursday, August 31st, to hear the charges against him. Fluty will remain in jail until his next court appearance on September 20th, where he will enter a plea.
Fluty was on the run from the Rawlins Police Department. On the evening of July 27th, officers responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle in the enclosed lot of a business on the 800 block of Airport Road in Rawlins. Fluty was seen behind the wheel of a vehicle reported stolen in Colorado. When officers attempted to apprehend Fluty, the suspect drove through a chain link fence and into a ditch near the Rochelle Ranch Golf Course. Fluty escaped on foot.
As officers searched the area around the golf course, Fluty allegedly stole a red 1991 Chevrolet half-ton pickup truck from the parking lot of the Rawlins Municipal Airport. The truck was reported to contain several guns and boxes of ammo. Rawlins PD were unable to locate Fluty or the stolen truck. A lookout was issued for Fluty in the surrounding states.
It is unclear, at this time, if Fluty used the weapons from the truck against the South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper.
In a written statement provided to Bigfoot99, Public Information Officer for the Attorney General’s Office Tony Mangan said, “The State Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the officer involved shooting aspect of the case – which DCI always does.”
