LARAMIE, Wyoming — The discovery of an unlatched door and some playing cards kicked off a more than yearlong investigation in two states that resulted in nearly three dozen arrests.
It all began at the jail in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Dec. 7, 2022, when a deputy doing rounds noticed a door that wasn't latched properly.
"He was able to get the door open and start investigating and he found some playing cards on the floor," Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak said. "He realized, OK, someone is using playing cards to open this door."
The deputy reviewed the video and determined that an inmate had been using the cards to "jimmy" open the door. After reviewing the additional video, he noticed the inmate going to a particular part of the room after getting the door open.
When the deputy went to that area, he found that a glass block that led to the outside of the building had been shattered, which allowed for contraband to be brought into the jail.
"Why you would build a jail with glass blocks? I'm not sure why they did that way back when," Kozak said. "But not a smart idea, for those obvious reasons."
That discovery prompted a large-scale investigation dubbed Operation Shattered Glass that involved numerous agencies in Wyoming and northern Colorado. During the 15-month investigation, they were able to identify a vehicle and a person they believed was bringing the drugs to the jail.
The investigation was turned over to the Laramie County Sheriff's Office detective assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. The LCSO detective and his partner, an agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations, identified a drug organization operating out of Colorado and Mexico. The organization was supplying fentanyl and methamphetamine to numerous individuals in Laramie County and southeast Wyoming.
During 2023, a total of 32 suspects were arrested. A dozen of them were prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office. They received sentences ranging from 32 to 75 months in federal prison, according to Kozak. Others are still awaiting trial and sentencing.
Nineteen were prosecuted at the local level. More than 16,000 fentanyl pills were seized. Methamphetamine, cocaine and five firearms were also seized as part of the investigation.
As a result of the investigation, the Laramie County Sheriff's Office created a new policy and will provide Narcan to those being released from jail who have a known drug addiction. It was put in place after a woman released from their facility later died from an overdose.
The following Colorado organizations assisted with the investigation:
- North Metro Drug Task Force
- Northern Colorado Drug Task Force
- Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office
- Thornton Police Department
- Larimer County Sheriff's Office
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