All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Riverton, WY) – The case for 49-year-old Thayne, WY man Christian Heap, who was reported to have supplied and smoked marijuana with minors while he was slack-lining in Riverton City Park back in August, is now bound for District Court following the continued preliminary hearing held today, September 20.
An arraignment date has yet to be set.
The hearing was overseen by the Honorable Judge Daniel Stebner, with Heap represented by Jonathan Gerard, and the State by Patrick LeBrun.
The preliminary hearing began on August 16, but was continued to today’s date following Heap’s request for a continuance after an additional charge was added to the information on file.
Heap was originally charged with felony delivery of marijuana and an endangering children misdemeanor, but a felony delivery of drug paraphernalia to a minor charge was added following an affidavit information amendment filed on August 16.
In the state of Wyoming, the moment a controlled substance is handed to another individual can be considered “delivery,” LeBrun clarified at today’s hearing.
During the State’s remarks, the Riverton Police Department (RPD) patrol officer who responded to the call was asked to speak in regards to the incident.
The officer shared that there were two adult witnesses of Heap providing and smoking a pipe with children, with one of the witnesses stating that two of the children were as young as five and six years old.
The substance in the pipe was later tested positive for marijuana.
The officer also shared that footage from a camera at City Park was also obtained, and in that footage Heap can be seen with a group of children while smoke can also be seen coming from where they were sitting.
It was later determined during remarks from the Defense that the amount of marijuana Heap was ultimately found with was “unscalable,” meaning the amount was less than the minimum 2 gram requirement for the scales RPD uses to weigh controlled substances.
The Court went on to determine that enough probable cause had been presented, and the case was bound to District Court with a to-be-determined arraignment date.
County 10 will provide updates on Heap’s case as they become available, which can be viewed here.