By Ron Richter on Fri 11/20/2009 04:42pm
CHEYENNE, (AP) - A federal judge has sentenced a former Wyoming state trooper to serve 15 years in prison for kidnapping a truck driver in what prosecutors say was an aborted murder plot. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson sentenced 42-year-old Franklin Ryle on Friday after a lengthy sentencing hearing that began Thursday.
Ryle pleaded guilty in July to charges he violated the civil rights of a Wal-Mart trucker by kidnapping the man in January near Douglas. Ryle also admitted carrying a firearm during the crime. Ryle has said he intended to stage an accident involving the truck and his patrol car to try to get a settlement from the company. Ryle ultimately released the trucker unharmed.
