A former Wyoming journalist wanted on a felony forgery warrant was pulled from a Cheyenne basement Oct. 6 after deputies fired chemical-irritant rounds and deployed a grenade when she refused to come out. April Marie Morganroth, who also worked as a reporter under the name Marie Hamilton, was inside the home as deputies issued commands for roughly 30 minutes before entering.
Morganroth was arrested on the felony forgery warrant and also charged with interference with a peace officer, according to WyoFile. She had been on the Laramie County Sheriff's Office Most Wanted list for the active felony forgery warrant, per KGAB. A detective saw Morganroth and a child arrive at a Cheyenne residence in a Ford pickup, park in the driveway and go inside, WyoFile reports, and deputies say she refused repeated orders to leave.
Thirty Minutes Of Silence, Then A Chemical Response
After about 30 minutes of commands being given with no response, officers decided to enter the house, the WyoFile account states. While clearing the first floor, they say they found a ballistic plate carrier and a loaded AR rifle in a bedroom. Determining that the basement stairwell was unsafe to approach, a detective fired about five rounds of chemical irritant at the basement floor, according to the same report.
When that failed to bring her out, a second detective put on a gas mask and deployed a chemical irritant grenade into the basement, dispersing a chemical powder, WyoFile reports. Morganroth then began crawling upstairs and was arrested, the outlet notes. She was booked into the Laramie County Detention Center, and as Cowboy State Daily reported, she was still in custody Friday morning, according to a statement attributed to Brandon Warner.
A Trail Of Forgery Allegations
The warrant traces back to allegations that Morganroth forged documents to enroll her child in Laramie County School District 1 and obtain special education services, WyoFile reports. But that case is only one piece of a much larger legal tangle. In Platte County, she faces 20 forgery and perjury charges tied to the alleged wind-farm dispute, per the same outlet's reporting.
Other allegations involve purported USDA loan and grant documents. The wind-farm allegations involve allegedly forged documents used to oppose a proposed project near Chugwater and lying under oath at a hearing on the project. Cowboy State Daily specifies 16 forgery counts and four perjury counts.
A Long History Under Multiple Names
Before her Wyoming journalism career, Morganroth pleaded guilty in Arizona to a single forgery count after authorities accused her of cashing a $5,000 welfare check meant for her brother, according to the Denver Post. She later worked as a reporter under the name Marie Hamilton and was publisher of the Southeast Wyoming Sentinel, per KGAB's reporting. WyoFile reports she was fired from the Boulder Daily Camera in 2021 after editors there acknowledged in a retraction that she had fabricated quotes.
The criminal cases against Morganroth remain ongoing, and she has not been formally convicted of any of the charges, WyoFile notes. Investigators continue working through the forgery allegations across Laramie and Platte counties as the Cheyenne case moves forward in the court system.
