By Karla Pomeroy
Editor
Ten Sleep man charged with attempted murder
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BASIN — A Ten Sleep man is being held on $500,000 cash bond on three felony counts after an incident on Feb. 3 at the HiWay Bar and Café.
Michael Duane Verry, 70, was arrested in Billings, Mont., on Feb. 21, following his release from a Billings hospital. He is charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery. An attempted second-degree murder charge has also been filed according to records from the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office.
He was then transported to the Big Horn County Detention Center. After appearing in circuit court in Basin, a preliminary hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4, and the cash bond set.
According to an earlier interview with Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn and Deputy Craig Shidler shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3, HiWay Bar and Café owner Justin Rollins was attempting to close up with one customer left, 70-year-old Ten Sleep resident Michael Verry.
Blackburn said Rollins attempted to get Verry to stay in one of the small cabins they have at the HiWay Bar and Café in Manderson. Verry left the bar with Rollins, who took him to a cabin. As Rollins was walking back to the bar, Verry allegedly fired a couple of rounds from a handgun at the door where Rollins was entering.
Shidler said Rollins got the bartender on the floor. Verry then allegedly fired a few more rounds into the bar but never entered the bar. He then drove away. No one was injured from the shots, Blackburn said.
Law enforcement, including Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office, Washakie County Sheriff’s Office and Wyoming Highway Patrol attempted to locate Verry Sunday night, Feb. 3, but were unsuccessful.
A passerby on Highway 31 located Verry’s 2002 Ford ¾ ton pickup off the side of the road on Monday, Feb. 4.
Verry had allegedly rolled the vehicle at milepost 13 on Wyoming Highway 31.
Verry was located underneath of the pickup with his right hand and arm pinned underneath. He was extracted from under the vehicle, transported to South Big Horn Hospital and then later life-flighted to a Billings hospital where he recovered until his arrest on Feb. 21.
