CHEYENNE CARJACKING SUSPECTS ARRAIGNED IN FEDERAL COURT

OSCAR ALDREDO ORTIZ, age 19, recently of Cheyenne, Wyoming and JACOB NATHANIEL HOPKINS TRIGG, age 18, of Erie, Colorado entered pleas of not guilty at their arraignments on June 1, 2020.  Both were indicted on May 21, 2020 in federal court for one count of carjacking and aiding and abetting each other in the carjacking, and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the carjacking.  The charges were filed as a result of an investigation into a reported carjacking that occurred in Cheyenne on April 21, 2020. 

Ortiz and Trigg are alleged to have been walking on Southwest Drive in Cheyenne in the late night hours of April 21, 2020 when the victim stopped his vehicle to avoid hitting them.  The suspects first asked for a ride then demanded the victims vehicle from him and produced a rifle and handgun.  After taking the vehicle Ortiz and Trigg demanded the victim empty his pockets.  The suspects then, according to reports, fled to Colorado and were latter apprehended after returning to Cheyenne.

Their trial has been set for July 27, 2020 in Cheyenne before Federal District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal, and is expected to take up to 5 days.  Ortiz and Trigg were both remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal’s Service.  Both are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Carjacking carries a potential penalty of up to fifteen years imprisonment, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence has a potential penalty of seven years to life imprisonment. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.