Man pleads no contest to property destruction, reckless endangering

A Burlington man avoided jail time but must spent three years on supervised probation and pay a $3,000 fine for ramming his truck into a vehicle and pulling a gun on its three occupants who wanted to fight with his son last December.

Clifford Preston Winters, 45, pled no contest to one count of property destruction, a felony, and one count of reckless endangering, a misdemeanor, on Tuesday, July 8, in the Fifth Judicial District Court of Big Horn County.

The pleas resulted from an agreement between Winters, who was represented in court by Brigita Krisjansons, and Big Horn County Attorney Marcia Bean.

Under the terms of the deal, which must still be approved by the judge, Winters would receive a two- to five-year underlying sentence on the property destruction charge, all of which would be suspended upon conditions of three years of supervised probation.

Winters would also be required to pay a $3,000 fine, plus court assessments, along with $150 to the Wyoming Crime Victim’s Compensation fund. There may be restitution as well, but that amount has not been established, said Bean.

For the lesser reckless endangering charge, Winters agreed to the prosecutors offer of a 180-day underlying sentence, to be suspended in favor of one year of supervised probation. He would not face a fine — by statute, one cannot be levied for this crime — but he would have to pay court assessments and $150 to the Wyoming Crime Victim’s Compensation fund.

Besides the property destruction charge, Winters originally faced three other felony charges — two alleging aggravated assault and battery and one alleging conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and battery. The conspiracy charge was dropped before the case reached district court, however, and the first count was eventually amended from aggravated assault and battery to reckless endangering.

Winters was the supervisor of Big Horn County Weed & Pest at the time of his arrest and continues to serve in that capacity. Tim Beck, who chairs its board of supervisors, said after Winters’ arrest they were aware of the charges but were going to let the case play out in the courts.

Background

The incident that prompted the charges occurred during the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2024. Seth Hoblit, a Big Horn County Sheriff’s deputy, wrote in an affidavit that he was summoned at 1:36 a.m. to a vehicle accident with multiple parties and injuries at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Burlington.

Upon arrival, the deputy found a green Ford truck and a white Pontiac Grand Am with extensive damage to its passenger side.  Three boys, Kyler Reeves, Hudson Heaton and Christian Myers, exited the Pontiac.  Winters and his son, Clifford T. Winters, exited the Ford.

Hoblit wrote that the dispute appeared to stem from a disagreement and name-calling on social media between Clifford T. Winters, 18, and Reeves, Heaton and Myers, all between 17 and 18.

Reeves, Heaton and Myers told investigators they arrived at the Winters house believing they would fight near there, but left when they heard gun shots.

They said Clifford T. Winters then reached out to them, asking where they’d gone and suggesting they meet at the LDS Church.  “The next thing they knew, a truck was coming right at them in the parking lot, slamming into the car they were sitting in,” Hoblit wrote.

In their account, Reeves and Heaton said they exited their vehicle and approached the truck, believing it to be Clifford T. Winters, but were instead met by Clifford P. Winters who “stepped out, cocked a gun and pointed it right at them.”

All three of the boys were transported by ambulance to Powell Valley Healthcare. In Myers’ case, it was due to a heart condition.

Another sheriff’s deputy on scene later took a Glock 43 pistol from Clifford P. Winters, who admitted he’d fired it outside his residence and was holding it in his hand when approached by the boys after the collision.