Cheyenne Man Accused of Taking Fentanyl Into Jail in His Rectum

A 43-year-old Cheyenne man is facing a felony charge after detention deputies reportedly found suspected fentanyl in his rectum.

According to a booking sheet, police stopped Edward James McGaha in the area of Interstate 25 and West Lincolnway at 12:39 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5 for driving without his rear lights on.

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Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Bust

Police say when they approached the vehicle, they smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, which McGaha said was a rental.

McGaha was asked to step out of the vehicle so police could search the vehicle, and a backpack containing multiple empty jeweler's bags, a scale with a white powder residue, a bag of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms, and a cell phone was reportedly found in the back seat.

Police also reportedly found a backpack in the trunk, which contained a used needle and a tooter with suspected fentanyl residue.

McGaha was placed under arrest and searched, and reportedly had two used glass pipes with suspected cocaine residue and a large amount of cash on him.

Police say McGaha told them the backpacks belonged to a friend whose name he couldn't recall, and the pipes in his pocket were his cocaine pipes and he smoked cocaine within the last few hours.

Police say when they asked McGaha if he had anything else on him that they hadn't found, he denied having anything, despite them advising him that if he took anything into the jail it could add a felony to his charges.

Strip Search Leads to Fentanyl, Felony Charge

McGaha was then taken to the Laramie County Detention Center and strip-searched and was reportedly found to have suspected fentanyl in his rectum.

McGaha was subsequently charged with taking a controlled substance into jail, a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, up to a $3,000 fine, or both.

He was also charged with three counts of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

McGaha made his initial appearance in Laramie County Circuit Court on Friday, Sept. 6, during which his bond was set at $5,000 cash and his preliminary hearing was scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m.

Please remember that all suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.