Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department

A spokesman for the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Department is reminding people to make sure they are prepared before hitting the back country this winter. Dick Blust says you should make sure your gas tank is full before heading out of town, and have a supply of cold weather clothing--including boots--on hand...

Blust says the real intent ist.o get personal information about victims through questions on the application.

Dick Blust says the e-mails claim to be from legitimate businesses and will often threaten to cancel the customer's account if the information is not immediately sent.

Blust says the caller often provides a phony IRS agent badge number, and in some cases may know the intended victim's Social Security number.

Haskell asked that anyone with information on either of the men contact local law enforcement.

Teach your children to stay alert for any suspicious incidents and report anything unusual to you, their school, and law enforcement.

Blust says this is the third time this year the department has received numerous reports of the scam, and says if you receive such a call, you should simply hang up.

The remains have been sent to the University of Wyoming, where they will undergo further examination.

District Court Judge Richard Lavery passed sentence Thursday in District Court in Green River on a Farson man convicted in May for crimes committed against a minor, Sweetwater County Sheriff Rich Haskell said today. Marty Rhodes, 35, was found guilty at trial on May 21 of Child Abuse and Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Third Degree, both felonies. The case’s lead investigator, Detective Jeff Sheaman, testified for the prosecution. No defense witnesses were called. Deputy County Attorney Suzannah Gambell, who prosecuted Rhodes at trial, described him as a “manipulator” and an “evil man” and asked for the maximum penalty on both charges. Under state statute, the maximum penalty for Child Abuse is five years of imprisonment; for Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Third Degree the maximum is 15 years. Rhodes’s attorney, Kent Brown, asked that his client be granted probation. Though he did not take the stand, Rhodes told the court he was concerned about who would take care of his ill mother. Judge Lavery, who presided at Rhodes’s trial, characterized him as one who is all about manipulating those weaker than himself. “You are not a man who is worried about his mother,” he said. Lavery sentenced Rhodes to imprisonment for not less than four and not more than five years for the Child Abuse charge, and a minimum of 13 years and not more than 15 years for Sexual Abuse of a Minor in the Third Degree, and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively. Rhodes will receive credit for 476 days already served. Deputy County Attorney Suzannah Gambell, who prosecuted Rhodes at trial, described him as a “manipulator” and an “evil man” and asked for the maximum penalty on both charges.

On Wednesday Judge Nena James sentenced Hodge to a sentence of 30 to 50 years in prison on each count, with the sentences to be served consecutively.