Altercation between two UP employees leads to the murder of a Nebraska man
(The following story by Zach Zavoral appeared on the Kemmerer Gazette website on May 19, 2010.)
DIAMONDVILLE, Wyo. Small towns always enjoy a good amount of rumors, but last Wednesdays murder story was no rumor.
Paul Cook, a 39-year-old Union Pacific railroad worker from Bellevue, Neb., was beaten to death last Tuesday night, May 11, just before midnight at the Fairview Motel in Diamondville.
The Lincoln County Sheriffs office deemed it a homicide, marking South Lincoln Countys first homicide since 2004. The last homicide in Lincoln County occurred in 2009.
Vincent James, a 36-year-old Union Pacific employee from Sanders, Ariz., has been arrested and booked at the Lincoln County Jail pending homicide charges.
According to the Fairview Motel manager, who requested his name be kept anonymous, nothing illegal or suspicious was taking place at 11 p.m. that night when the manager made his final perimeter checkout as he does every night.
At about 11:45 p.m., James was heard knocking on doors and eventually broke a window. His racket and noise lead to a 9-1-1 call from a neighboring motel customer.
When the police arrived, they found James intoxicated and wandering on the motel premises. When they walked by James motel room, they found the door open and saw an unconscious man and a semi-unconscious man lying on the motel room floor. The unconscious man, Cook, was declared dead at the scene with obvious trauma to his head and face obtained during an altercation inside the room.
The semi-unconscious man, a 33-year-old from Bluegap, Ariz., was taken to South Lincoln Medical Center and treated for wounds to the head before being interviewed by County detectives.
An autopsy on Cook is still pending.
When interviewed by County detectives, James apparently supplied a lot of details leading to his eventual booking.
I would say interviewing he, himself, was the best source we had, Lincoln County Sheriffs Department Captain John Stetzenbach said.
According to the Sheriffs Office, an altercation occurred between the three men, though the Sheriffs office could not reveal who was mad at whom in the fight. That altercation, however, lead to Cooks death and the beating of the third man.
The room itself has been severely damaged, as well as the Fairviews clean reputation.
Its overwhelming, the manager said. This has never happened to us in the entire (15-year) period we owned this motel. And when you bring in large groups of people from out of town and the Fair Housing Accommodation Act doesnt even allow me to make a decision who Im gonna take and who Im not gonna take. So the rooms are open to those who can afford to pay the price.
The manager asked that the public remain aware of the Fairviews excellent service and reputation. The business is a victim of the homicide as well.
Business has suffered a lot as a result of the stigma that goes with (the crime).
When asked for details on Cook and James, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis declined to comment.
We respect their privacy, Davis said. Really, the only thing we can say is that it is under investigation and our sympathies go out to the family.
According to Stetzenbach, the actual charges that will be made against James are still pending. However, the third man who was found semi-unconscious is not a suspect in the case and was released after questioning.
