Colorado woman among 7 convicted for hauling drugs from Colorado into Wyoming
A Colorado Springs woman was recently sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for taking part in a drug trafficking ring that transported several narcotics across the Colorado-Wyoming border last year.
Nicole Phipps, 42, received a 133-month sentence on Sept. 24.
The man identified by investigators as the leader of the operation, 48-year-old Denny Jason Shrove of Rawlins, Wyoming, was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison. His sentence concluded the prosecution of all seven defendants.
The first hints of the group's activity were discovered in January 2025. Over the next several months, "multiple" confidential informants told Wyoming investigators of their success obtaining several types of illicit drugs from members of the ring. Two Casper residents, Alysha Dahl and Bryan Hackleman, were first identified, according to a case document. Further information connected Cainen Taylor of Rawlins to the operation.
Investigators used a tracking device Hackleman's pickup to follow his activity. With a judge's approval, they also used a device to obtain phone numbers that Hackleman was messaging with on his phone - without Hackleman knowing it. Some of those contacts led authorities to the other members of the drug-running organization.
Eventually, Shrove was determined to be the main supplier for Hackleman, Dahl and Taylor.
Phipps, per the case document, was Shrove's girlfriend. Shrove often made trips to his supplier in Colorado (including Denver) with Phipps alongside, per the document. Phipps was present as Shrove discussed pricing and made deliveries in several Wyoming towns and cities on their way back to Rawlins, according to the document, and communications indicated both were armed.
At the time, both were already convicted felons who were not allowed to carry weapons, per the group's federal indictment.
In the end, Dahl and Hackleman were each sentenced to 151 months in prison, Taylor to 140 months. Gerald McCoy of Casper was caught after a police pursuit; he received a 132-month sentence. Jonathan Burton of Gillette received 100 months.
All seven were prosecuted and sentenced in a federal court in Casper.
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney General Office of the Wyoming District said "dozens" of other people were linked to the organization and have been charged in Wyoming state court.
The group's activity "flooded Wyoming communities" with drugs, the AG's office claimed in the same release. Methamphetamine was most commonly delivered and sold, but cocaine and fentanyl pills were popular as well. Marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, fentanyl powder and heroin were also on the group's menu.
"This isn't just about making arrests. It's about taking our streets back," U.S. Attorney Darin Smith stated in a press release following the conclusion of Phipps's case. "We are pooling every ounce of local, state and federal power to lock up the drug peddlers driving this crisis, and we will not stop until our neighborhoods are safe."
Phillps previously lived in Wyoming, according to online public records. A spokesman for the Wyoming Attorney General's Office told CBS Colorado the woman had moved to Colorado Springs, but did not provide how long she'd been a resident there or if her move there was related to the drug activity.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was assisted by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations personnel during the nearly year-long investigation.
