A Rawlins man described by investigators as the leader of a sprawling drug trafficking operation has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, closing out the prosecution of seven defendants accused of running methamphetamine, fentanyl and other narcotics across the Colorado-Wyoming border. Denny Jason Shrove, 48, received 216 months behind bars, the final sentence handed down in a case that investigators say stretched across five Wyoming counties.
According to Wyoming News Now, officials called it a “sophisticated operation” led by Shrove that brought drugs into Albany, Campbell, Carbon, Laramie and Natrona counties. Surveillance reportedly showed the group making weekly supply runs down to Colorado and back, a rhythm investigators say kept the pipeline flowing. As reported by CBS Colorado, Shrove lived in Rawlins and traveled to a supplier in Colorado, including Denver, to keep the operation stocked.
Investigators first picked up on the group's activity in January 2025, the station's report notes, and the case moved quickly from there. Shrove was the first person arrested, taken into custody on Jan. 23, 2025, according to Cowboy State Daily. The investigation ultimately spanned nearly a year, per the same CBS Colorado account, with confidential informants reporting successful buys of illicit drugs directly from ring members.
Girlfriend Accompanied Him on Supply Runs, Armed During Deliveries
Nicole Phipps, 42, was identified as Shrove's girlfriend and was sentenced to 133 months in federal prison for coordinating the group's weekly supply trips, Wyoming News Now reports. CBS Colorado's account adds that Phipps accompanied Shrove on the trips to Colorado suppliers and was present for pricing discussions and drug deliveries once the product reached Wyoming. Both Phipps and Shrove were convicted felons barred from carrying firearms, yet CBS Colorado reports the pair were armed during the deliveries.
Phipps previously lived in Wyoming before moving to Colorado Springs, according to a Wyoming Attorney General spokesman cited by CBS Colorado. That detail places her among the Colorado-based participants prosecutors say helped move drugs across state lines — though the station's report notes a separate account describing a Colorado woman who made five trips to Wyoming in a single month, a detail the Casper Star-Tribune reported in connection with a separate 11-year federal sentence in a related multistate trafficking case.
Six Co-Defendants Also Sentenced
Court records and officials describe Shrove as the main supplier for Bryan Hackleman, Alysha Dahl and Cainen Taylor, three defendants whose sentences rounded out the case. Wyoming News Now reports Hackleman, identified as a member of the operation, was sentenced to 151 months for distributing 19 pounds of methamphetamine, while Dahl received 151 months for her role distributing 11 pounds of the drug — though Cowboy State Daily's separate account instead lists Dahl's sentence as 12 years and 2.5 months, a discrepancy the record does not resolve.
Taylor, also connected to the operation, was sentenced to 140 months in prison, according to CBS Colorado's reporting. Gerald McCoy received 132 months after being caught following a police pursuit, the outlet adds, while Jonathan Burton, who resided in Gillette, was sentenced to 100 months. Cowboy State Daily's account of the same proceedings instead names a defendant called Jordan Burke of Casper receiving an eight-year term — one of several details that conflict between the two outlets' coverage of the case.
All seven defendants were prosecuted and sentenced in federal court in Casper, CBS Colorado reports. Investigators say the ring transported methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl pills, marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, fentanyl powder and heroin, with methamphetamine described as the most commonly delivered and sold drug in the network.
How Investigators Built the Case
Investigators placed a tracking device on Hackleman's pickup truck and obtained phone numbers he was messaging with, according to CBS Colorado's account of the case; a judge approved the use of a device to collect those messaging contacts. Confidential informants also reported successfully acquiring drugs directly from ring members, building a paper trail that prosecutors used across the multi-county case.
Officials said the prosecution reflected an interagency effort between federal, state and local law enforcement, according to Wyoming News Now. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was assisted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations, per CBS Colorado's reporting. More than 30 additional people connected to the operation received state sentences, officials told Wyoming News Now, while CBS Colorado's account, attributed to a Wyoming Attorney General release, describes dozens of other people as linked to the organization and charged separately in Wyoming state court for allegedly flooding communities with drugs.
Street Value and Seized Drugs
The U.S. Attorney's Office estimated the street value of the drugs seized in the case at $325,000, according to Cowboy State Daily. Accounts of exactly how much methamphetamine was recovered differ: Wyoming News Now reported that 23 pounds of methamphetamine, along with fentanyl pills, cocaine, heroin and mushrooms, were taken off the streets, while Cowboy State Daily reported authorities seized approximately 1,429.7 grams of methamphetamine, 25.3 grams of fentanyl pills, 67.5 grams of heroin and 16.4 grams of cocaine, along with fentanyl powder, psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana.
Darin Smith said the case was about more than clearing a docket. “This isn't just about making arrests. It's about taking our streets back,” Smith said, adding that local, state and federal authorities will continue targeting drug traffickers until neighborhoods are safe, according to CBS Colorado's reporting.
