Midwest Republican Rep. Bill Allemand on July 15 pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol following his arrest in Buffalo in December.
A review of court documents shows the lawmaker also faced two separate sets of criminal charges for domestic battery and violating a protection order — allegations which included trespassing and “harassment by telephone” — in Kansas during the 2000s.
The domestic battery charge stemmed from a Feb. 27, 2001 incident in which Allemand allegedly did “unlawfully, willfully and intentionally cause physical contact with another person … in [a] rude, insulting or angry manner,” according to court documents.
Allemand agreed to a pre-trial diversion program, which suspended the criminal proceedings for 12 months, during which he had to abide by all laws, abstain from the use of alcohol or drugs and attend domestic violence education classes. The charge was dismissed after Allemand completed the one-year program, according to court documents.
“It never happened,” Allemand told WyoFile on July 16. “It was dismissed because it didn’t happen.”
The protection order violation accusation followed a Dec. 5, 2009 incident in which he was charged with criminal trespass for allegedly appearing at an address prescribed by court order as off limits to him, and with harassment for allegedly calling the victim 27 times the same day, according to court records obtained by WyoFile.
WyoFile was unable to make direct contact with the victim, but was told by the victim’s family they did not want to comment.
He pleaded no contest to the violation of a protection order and was sentenced to six months in jail and a $200 fine. The other charges were dropped. Instead of serving jail time, he was granted 12 months of “non-reporting” probation requiring him to avoid contact with the victim, to obtain a domestic violence assessment and to follow any resulting recommendations, the plea deal states.
“I know nothing about that,” Allemand told WyoFile, referring to the 2009 incident and charges.
Both sets of Kansas charges were mentioned by Johnson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Josh Stensaas during Allemand’s Dec. 29 arraignment when he initially pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, according to an audio transcript of the hearing.
DUI conviction
Johnson County Circuit Court Magistrate Judge Jeremy Kisling sentenced Allemand to 90 days in jail with credit for two days served following his Dec. 28 arrest. Kisling suspended the jail time in place of one year of unsupervised probation and ordered him to pay a $500 fine plus $270 in court fees.
The court ordered that, during his probation period, Allemand must refrain from alcohol and controlled substances and not enter bars or liquor stores where alcohol is the main item of sale, according to court documents. He is subject to random testing — one to two times per month for the first six months — of blood, breath, urine “upon reasonable articulable suspicion of use.” He must also complete an alcohol/substance abuse evaluation.
A WyoFile review of Wyoming court records found no prior DUIs on Allemand’s record.
In Wyoming, a first DUI conviction is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $750 fine, according to the Governor’s Council on Impaired Driving. A driver with a non-commercial driver’s license is considered drunk with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08%. A first DUI conviction with a blood-alcohol content of 0.15% or higher requires the offender to install an ignition interlock for six months, according to the council and state statute.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation is notified about all DUI convictions and determines whether license suspension and/or interlock installation is mandated, based on state statutes.
The state’s test showed Allemand, who runs an oilfield trucking company, had a blood-alcohol content of 0.24%, according to court documents. Allemand and his attorney disputed the accuracy of the test results.
While his blood-alcohol content exceeded 0.15%, according to the state, it’s unclear whether Allemand will be required to install an ignition interlock. WYDOT told WyoFile that information about interlock installation is confidential under the Driver Privacy Protection Act.
Allemand didn’t respond to WyoFile’s inquiry about whether there were any restrictions applied to his driving privileges.
Allemand initially pleaded not guilty in December, and maintained that position until July 15. Reached by WyoFile on July 16, Allemand said he had no comment about his change of plea.
It comes after months of maintaining his innocence, alleging the traffic stop was unjustified and that body camera footage of the arrest “shows that I was not drunk,” Allemand told WyoFile in June.
Political implications
Allemand, a Wyoming Freedom Caucus member who has served House District 58 since 2023, is running for a third term. He faces a primary challenge from one of his former supporters, Peter Boyer, who is wrapping up a term as mayor of Bar Nunn. The winner of the GOP primary, to be decided on Aug. 18, will face Democratic candidate Keenan Morgan in November.
Allemand frequently touts his status as a member of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, which proclaims to “plan together, work together, and pray together in pursuit of policies that promote truth by protecting life, private property rights, and Judeo-Christian family values.” Freedom Caucus Chair Rachel Rodriguez-Williams has declined WyoFile’s request for an official comment on Allemand’s legal entanglements.
Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear, the former Freedom Caucus chairman, told WyoFile in June, “As an individual, I would tell you that everybody deserves their day in court, and we’ll see how that comes out.
“If he has a problem, I hope he gets help. And if it turns out that, you know, that wasn’t the case, then I hope justice is served.”
In the body camera footage released by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office last month, Allemand appears to tell a detention officer during a search, “If you were a woman, I would like this.”
Moments later during the search, Allemand tells the officer, “Look at that belt buckle.”
“Oh, that’s a nice buckle,” the officer responds.
“What does it say?” Allemand asks.
The officer responds, “Honor Wyoming. I like it.”
Honor Wyoming, a conservative political group in Wyoming that touts “integrity” among its core mission, scores Allemand as a “top hand” in its online “Integrity Index.”
“Honor Wyoming doesn’t have a perspective on the personal life of any lawmaker unless it was some sort of conflict of interest related to legislation they were voting on,” John Guido of Honor Wyoming told WyoFile via email. Honor Wyoming’s “Political Integrity Index scores each lawmaker’s votes to see if they are in alignment with the most basic and agreed-upon responsibilities all Wyoming voters expect them to uphold.”
WyoFile’s editor, Tennessee Watson, and reporter, Maggie Mullen, contributed reporting.
