Driver accused of ‘catastrophic… | Cowboy State Daily

A 26-year-old man accused of killing and dismembering two motorcyclists with his truck in August 2023 while under the influence of methamphetamine pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Johnathan Cervantes appeared Thursday afternoon in Goshen County District Court with his attorney, Eric Palen, and an interpreter for the hearing.

The case came after Cervantes evaded charges against him for nearly a year until immigration officials turned him over to Goshen County for prosecution, court documents show.

“Your honor, my client pleads not guilty, thank you,” Palen said on Cervantes’ behalf.

Judge Edward Buchanan pleaded not guilty and announced that he had set a trial date within the next six months.

Cervantes was charged with two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and one count of possession of methamphetamine. The first two counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, while the drug charges carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine.

“Completely Disintegrated”

The investigation began on the evening of Aug. 11, 2023, when Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper Samuel Szott responded to a two-vehicle crash on Highway 85 in Goshen County, according to an affidavit of evidence filed in the case.

Szott found a silver Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck on its wheels in the grass on the east side of the road and a Harley-Davidson three-wheeled motorcycle south of the pickup truck, according to the document.

Only the rear wheels and seat were still connected. The rest of the motorcycle was completely destroyed, Szott wrote in a statement.

He added that two people who were riding the tricycle were “catastrophically dismembered” in the accident and died.

According to witness statements, the pickup truck was traveling north and the motorcycle was traveling south when the truck crossed the center lane and struck the three-wheeler head-on, according to the document.

There were tire marks and scratches on the road leading towards the northbound lane, indicating the impact occurred in the southbound lane, near the center line. Szott found deep grooves in the central rumble strips.

“Scratches, blood and debris brought both vehicles to their final rest,” he wrote. “Severe crush damage to the front of the pickup truck also included blood and bone fragments in the grille, radiator and bumper areas.”

A passenger in the truck said he was asleep at the time of the collision.

Cervantes was thrown from the truck and suffered serious injuries.

Methane discovery

Authorities took Cervantes to a hospital in Loveland, Colorado.

But first, a paramedic said he found a small plastic bag containing what appeared to be methamphetamine and two glass methamphetamine pipes in Cervantes’ socks, the statement said. The paramedic said he also smelled alcohol on Cervantes’ breath.

When Szott later picked up the methamphetamine, it weighed 4.9 grams.

Szott found a streak of blood on the truck’s driver’s seat that stretched upwards toward the sunroof. The sunroof was destroyed, leaving a crater in the roof.

Cervantes was likely thrown through the sunroof during the rollover, Szott wrote.

The Dodge Ram’s airbag control module reportedly showed it was traveling at least 50 mph before the crash, which Szott called a low-ball assessment because the truck had oversized tires.

The witness handed Szott a wallet containing a U.S. permanent resident card registered to Cervantes. An ICE agent later determined the card was fake, according to the affidavit.

In a follow-up interview with Cowboy State Daily in August, Szott said he was unable to confirm Cervantes’ immigration status or citizenship.

It worked

Cervantes’ hospital toxicology records allegedly showed methamphetamine and benzodiazepines, as well as alcohol in his blood.

Cervantes left the hospital while the investigation was still ongoing and before a warrant was issued for his arrest, Szott told the Cowboy State Daily in August. He was arrested in Kansas in July on “unrelated charges,” Szott added.

Investigators originally issued an arrest warrant for “Jhonatan Cervantes” on October 19, 2023, when Cervantes was first charged. The name is incorrect, so on July 12, 2024, Goshen County Assistant Prosecutor Kenneth Brown filed a motion to replace the first arrest warrant with a warrant for “Johnathan Cervantes,” the correct name.

Clair McFarland you can arrive at [email protected].