News

Wal-Mart shooter jailed

By Anthony McConnell

This document was published online on Wednesday, July 11, 2007

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Clay Coleman (left), the apparent intended victim in Monday’s shooting in the Wal-Mart parking lot, talks to police officer Ron Parduba about the incident. (Photo by Jasen Hansen)

A Cody man is expected to be charged with first degree attempted murder and reckless endangering after firing a pistol in Wal-Mart's parking lot on Monday.

No injuries were reported and police arrested the suspect shortly after the shooting, Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric said.

According to witnesses, Chester Darral Fletcher, 62, of Cody fired at least five rounds from a .38-caliber handgun at Clay Coleman, also of Cody, at about 2:45 p.m.

Fletcher is scheduled to make his initial court appearance at 10 a.m. Thursday in Circuit Court in Cody, Skoric said.

The maximum penalty for attempted murder is life in prison without parole, Skoric said.

“I guess I'm lucky he can't shoot for diddly squat,” Coleman, the intended victim, said with a laugh after the shooting. “He shot at me eight times.”

Coleman said he had just finished shopping and was riding his bike toward the east end of the parking lot when Fletcher stopped his blue Lincoln Town Car, stepped out of the car and fired the pistol.

Fletcher left the parking lot and headed to his home in the 600 block of 11th Street, where police arrested him shortly thereafter.

“He emptied a clip of .38s at me,” Coleman said. “I'm just glad no one was hurt.”

Coleman said he knows Fletcher and has had “run-ins” with him in the past, but couldn't think of a reason why Fletcher would want to shoot him.

He added that Fletcher was known to carry a loaded handgun in his car.

Police recovered five shell casings from the scene. Many people reported seeing Fletcher fire eight shots.

Wal-Mart employee Jack Knopp went to work at 1 p.m. and was gathering shopping carts in the lot when he heard the shots.

“It was bang, bang, bang, bang,” he said. “I thought it was fireworks at first. It sounded like M80s.”

Once he realized what was happening, he took cover behind a car until he was certain it was safe.

After making sure no one was injured, Knopp, 35, informed his bosses and had a co-worker call police.

“I was shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline,” he said. “It was like something you would see on television - not in Cody.”

The only damage reported was to the windshield of a Dodge Caravan owned by Allen Crutchfield, a pastor from Powell.

Crutchfield was shopping at Wal-Mart with his wife and four kids when the shooting started.

The bullet hit the front windshield of the van and left a small hole before ricocheting off the dashboard. The bullet landed behind the front passenger seat, Crutchfield said.

As Crutchfield approached the van, the last thing he expected was a shooting.

“I thought maybe a shopping cart had hit our car or there had been an accident,” he said. “We were heading home because we have a 4-month-old baby to feed.”

Had the family left the store five minutes earlier they would have been in the van during the shooting.

“It probably is a blessing,” he said.

Wal-Mart employees allowed the family to use the store's breakroom and provided free drinks while police investigated the shooting.

“They even helped us clean the broken glass from the car,” Crutchfield said. “They've been really helpful.”

Skoric said he can't comment on the specifics of the case until charges are officially filed in Circuit Court.

“I'm glad no one was injured,” Skoric said. “It could have been considerably worse.”

The investigation is being handled by the Cody Police Department.

Chief Perry Rockvam declined to comment until after the investigation.

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