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The Thermopolis Police Department sergeant who shot a suspect to death in April was justified under criminal law, but he entered the man’s home illegally to force the fatal confrontation, according to an analysis by a special prosecutor.

Because of a contradiction in Wyoming’s self-defense laws, the sergeant may face civil consequences, but he will not be prosecuted criminally in this case.

At about midday April 28, Sgt. Mike Mascorro broke into the Thermopolis home of Buck Laramore, 33, a McDonald’s employee whom Mascorro had questioned earlier that day on suspicion of methamphetamine use.

Laramore shot Mascorro with a .45 pistol during the break-in, dropping Mascorro to the floor. Mascorro returned fire, killing Laramore.

The Thermopolis Police Department did not respond to Cowboy State Daily requests for comment by publication time Thursday.

The Decision

In a Sept. 21 decision Hot Springs County Attorney Jill Logan released Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily, Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe, whom Hot Springs County appointed as a special prosecutor on the case, analyzed the shooting against Wyoming’s self-defense and criminal laws.

While the special prosecutor ultimately found Mascorro was justified in shooting Laramore, the encounter didn’t have to happen at all.

“This was a completely avoidable incident,” wrote Erramouspe. “(Mascorro) felt that breaking into a person’s domicile was the best course of action for the misdemeanor of interference with a peace officer.”