Burns Woman Gets 32-36 Months in Cheyenne Teen's Death

A 26-year-old Burns woman was sentenced Tuesday in Laramie County District Court to 32 to 36 months in prison for accessory after the fact to manslaughter in the January 2023 shooting death of a 16-year-old Cheyenne girl.

Police say Sarah Heath was driving west on Dell Range Boulevard near Brakes Plus on the evening of Jan. 9 when 18-year-old Cody Nicholson, who was in the back seat with 19-year-old Tirso Munguia, set his gun and a magazine on the seat between them saying, "Be careful there's one in the head."

Police say Munguia was "manipulating" the gun when it went off, striking and killing Angelina Harrison, who was in the front passenger seat.

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When Heath pulled over, Nicholson, who had a warrant for a probation violation on an original charge of DUI, took the gun and ran.

Heath then called 911 and proceeded to the Frontier Mall parking lot, where first responders declared Harrison dead.

Police say Heath overheard Munguia telling responding officers that he didn't know Nicholson so she "ran with it," but she later changed her statement, admitting that she knew Nicholson and hadn't said anything because of his warrant.

Because of the initial lies, police say it took them two hours and 40 minutes to locate Nicholson.

Heath was subsequently charged with accessory after the fact to manslaughter, three counts of selling or furnishing alcohol to a minor, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. She pleaded guilty to the charges in May.

In addition to the 32- to 36-month sentence, she was also ordered to serve three consecutive 180-day sentences for the alcohol counts and a 180-day sentence for the marijuana count to run concurrently with the first alcohol count.

Heath will serve her time at the Wyoming Women's Center in Lusk.

Munguia, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in May, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 25 at 10 a.m. and Nicholson, who pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to manslaughter last month, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 6 at 10 a.m.

For more information about this case, check out our earlier posts:

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