Police have made three arrests in connection with the murder of a local businessman yesterday in Sheridan. Sheridan Police Chief Mike Card says the investigation will continue. 19-year-old Dennis Poitra, Jr., a 16-year-old Sheridan male, and a 15-year-old Sheridan male were all in custody by 8:30 last night. The names of the juvenile suspects cannot be released.
After he was shot in his own home, 79-year-old Robert Ernst was transported to Sheridan Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds and passed away.
Representatives from the state crime lab in Cheyenne arrived yesterday afternoon to assist in evidence collection. The Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office and Sheridan Area Search and Rescue helped with the investigation.
Card says the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation is also working the case. Nearly an entire shift of Sheridan Police officers who were not on duty were called in to help with the investigation.
Police have not said what the suspects’ motives may have been for the slaying.