CHEYENNE CARJACKING SUSPECTS SENTENCED

Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that JACOB NATHANIEL HOPKINS TRIGG, age 19 of Colorado, and OSCAR ALFREDO ORTIZ age 20 of Cheyenne, WY, were convicted and sentenced by Federal District Court Judge Nancy Freudenthal related to their involvement in a violent carjacking of a Cheyenne resident that occurred in southwest Cheyenne on April 21, 2020. Trigg was sentenced to nine years with five years supervised release. Ortiz was sentenced to 15 years with five years of supervised release. They were each ordered to pay $5,089 in restitution and $200 in special assessment fees.

The victim encountered the defendants standing on the roadway while driving in southwest Cheyenne. After the victim stopped to offer assistance, Ortiz brandished a rifle and demanded the victim turn over control of the vehicle. Trigg pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded he empty his pockets. Ortiz and Trigg then ordered the victim out at gun point and fled in the vehicle.  The next day, the vehicle was located in Longmont, Colorado. Witnesses and video cameras captured the defendants and a female dump the vehicle and cover it with a tarp. Meanwhile, officers in Longmont were tracking the duo on social media and found several posts related to the crime spree that also included a high-speed chase on I-70 near Evergreen, Colorado. The Colorado State Patrol ultimately disengaged from pursuing the vehicle after speeds reached in excess of 96 mph in a heavy traffic area. The FBI arrested the Ortiz and Trigg following a search warrant of Ortiz’s residence in Cheyenne where the firearms were located. Both firearm purchases were tracked back to the defendants.

“I want to send a clear message to would-be carjackers: Committing a senseless act of violence like carjacking will earn you a home in federal prison for a long time,” said Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray.  “This office and our law enforcement partners will always fight for crime victims and do our job to hold accountable violent criminals.”

“Today’s sentence highlights the successful collaboration between the FBI’s Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force (RMSSTF), Cheyenne Police Department (CPD), Longmont Police Department, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The CPD’s integration into the RMSSTF directly impacted the efficiency of the investigation,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. “We work diligently with our partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute violent criminals such as Trigg and Ortiz to protect the public and keep our communities safe. FBI Denver is grateful for all our task force participants as these strong partnerships continue to bring justice to those who commit violent crimes.”

The case was investigated by the Cheyenne Police Department, F.B.I., the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and Longmont Police Department in Colorado. The charges were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy J. Forwood.

“This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.”