Phillip Ostrowski, Appellant (defendant) v. the State of Wyoming, Appellee (plaintiff)

Summary

The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed Phillip Ostrowski's convictions on seven counts contained in two indictments that were joined for trial, rejecting challenges to his warrantless arrest, four search warrants, the amendment of one count, the sufficiency of the evidence, joinder, jury instructions, prosecutorial remarks, chain of custody, and hearsay. The court held that probable cause for a warrantless arrest may rest on the collective knowledge of investigating officers even where the arresting officer acts solely on a pick-up-and-hold order, and that all four search warrants were supported by probable cause and sufficiently specific descriptions. The remaining claims failed for lack of prejudice, and the court declined to reach the hearsay claim because ample other evidence connected appellant with the Roussalis theft.