All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Riverton, WY) – 22-year-old Riverton man Caron Bell faces five criminal charges (three felonies, two misdemeanors) for a reported assault incident occurring on December 23, 2025, in Riverton, which resulted in serious injuries for an adult male subject and a dog that tried to intervene.
Bell was arrested that same day on charges of Aggravated Assault and Battery (two counts), Criminal Trespass, Property Destruction and Defacement, and Cruelty to Animals.
Court documents state that around 1:30 AM on December 23, a Fremont County Sheriff’s Office deputy was transporting a subject from the hospital to a residence located in Riverton.
Upon arrival, a female subject ran from the residence directly into the front seat of the deputy’s patrol vehicle, with the deputy noting the subject was “covered almost completely from head to toe in blood.”
The female subject “was screaming” that Bell, later determined to be her son, had stabbed her husband, who was soon found sitting on the floor of the bathroom inside the residence, “completely naked and covered in blood.”
The deputy observed a deep laceration on the male subject’s arm “between his front deltoid and upper bicep area,” which was approximately one and a half inches in length.
While tending to the male subject’s wound, he informed the deputy that Bell had stabbed him, but he did not know what with, court documents continue.
The female subject then informed the deputy that Bell followed her into the bathroom and began pushing her around, which broke the bathroom mirror. The female subject’s husband then attempted to intervene, but Bell began “beating him up” and stabbed him with what she believed to be a piece of broken mirror. Bell then fled on foot, she added.
While speaking with the victims, the deputy noticed a pit bull mix dog walk into the room that had a deep laceration on its head between its eyes, approximately a half-inch in length. The female subject told the deputy that the dog “tried to defend” her husband, when Bell stabbed it in the head with what she believed to be the same object used to stab the husband.
The deputy observed the bathroom to be “smeared with a large amount of blood” along with the broken mirror, but he was “unable to locate which piece of mirror, if any,” that was used to stab the husband. EMS then transported the male subject, who had to be air-lifted to another hospital for his injuries.
Law enforcement began canvassing the area for Bell, who was ultimately found “sleeping in a closet” of an abandoned trailer home. After a “short struggle,” Bell, who had blood on his right hand, shoes, and clothes, was detained.
The deputy noted that Bell “acted as though he had no idea” what the deputy was talking about after he was escorted to the patrol vehicle, and denied ever being in the residence despite the deputy having observed Bell in the residence earlier that evening for a separate incident.
The deputy also noted in the affidavit that the residence had a “no trespassing” sign, and that Bell “did not have permission to be there.”
Bell’s preliminary hearing in Lander’s Circuit Court has been scheduled for January 8.
Aggravated Assault and Battery is a felony that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment.
Cruelty to Animals is a felony that carries a maximum punishment of no less than two and no more than five years imprisonment, and a $5,000 fine.
Criminal Trespass is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment and a $750 fine.
Property Destruction is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum punishment of six months imprisonment and a $750 fine.
County 10 will provide follow-ups on the case, which can be viewed here.