Sheriff report: Traffic stop in Byron leads to arrest of man on most-wanted list

During a routine traffic stop for expired plates on October 2 in Byron, Deputy Keri Angell discovered during a background check that the driver of the vehicle had multiple extraditable outstanding warrants out of Laramie and Platte counties for probation violation, drugs and theft.

Other deputies arrived to assist, and Paul Bennett Lamphier was arrested and taken to the Big Horn County Detention Center.

It was later revealed that Lamphier was on the Laramie County most-wanted list, and he has since been extradited to southeast Wyoming for prosecution.

“I want to thank Deputy Keri Angell and all of our deputies for their dedicated, proactive efforts to keep their communities safe,” Sheriff Ken Blackburn said in a Facebook post.

The Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office received the following other calls for the week of September 29-October 5:

September 29: 3:24 p.m. – A female driver called 911 to report that a white semi-tractor with a white enclosed trailer almost ran two vehicles off the road near the Georgia-Pacific turnoff south of Lovell, but she could not see a company name on the side of the trailer. There was no deputy in range, so the call was transferred to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

October 1: 4:45 p.m. – A Cowley woman called to say her husband would not let her leave the house. There were no weapons or alcohol involved, and the dispute was verbal in nature. A deputy responded, and the male agreed to leave for the night. The woman was provided information on CARES.

October 2: 11:55 a.m. – A caller from Byron called to complain that a car was parked in front of the Byron Bar with tires on the sidewalk. A deputy made contact and asked the car owner to move the vehicle, and he said he was already planning to leave and did so.

1:13 p.m. – Deputies assisted at the scene of a two-truck crash at the foot of the Big Horns east of Lovell.

1:41 p.m. – Big Horn County Search and Rescue was called to help with traffic control at the scene of the two-truck crash.

4:08 p.m. – A reported black cow on the highway near Frannie had vamoosed by the time a deputy responded to the scene.

October 3: 3:39 p.m. – A caller spoke to dispatch about eviction procedures.

8:24 p.m. – The driver of a Toyota Tundra pickup that hit two cows on County Road 5 between Byron and Cowley was not injured, but the cows were killed. Another driver stopped and offered to tow the pickup, and the owner of the cows said he would collect them the next morning. The driver of the Toyota was Douglas Firth of Deaver.

October 5: 9:45 p.m. – A caller from the all-female missionary house in Byron called to report that someone was knocking on windows and wiggling the door handle, but it turned out to be a fellow missionary who was locked out.

Note: The above calls were received by the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office. Persons arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and charges made upon initial arrest may be amended or dismissed as determined by the County Attorney.