Wanted Cheyenne man arrested after Albany County pursuit
Deputies stopped a suspected stolen vehicle near Albany and used tire deflators on rural roads near Fox Creek, ending a chase without injuries.
A wanted Cheyenne man was arrested in Albany County after a fast-moving pursuit that stretched from the Albany area to rural roads near Fox Creek, where deputies and the Wyoming Highway Patrol brought the vehicle to a stop with tire deflators. No other motorists were hurt and no officers were injured in the chase, which ended with Michael Welty taken into custody without incident.
Deputies with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office said they tried to stop Welty on June 10 near Albany, but he fled in a vehicle they believed was stolen. The pursuit ran along State Highway 11 between Albany and Centennial, then moved onto county roads toward Highway 130 and the Fox Creek area before stop sticks were deployed. The sheriff’s office thanked the Wyoming Highway Patrol for helping end the chase safely.
The route pushed the incident through a part of Albany County where long stretches of road, sparse traffic and high speeds can quickly turn a routine stop into a wider danger. The sheriff’s office said pursuits, whether at slow speeds or excessive speeds, create serious risk for the public, first responders and suspects alike. Albany County Road and Bridge had recently graded Fox Creek Road, which the sheriff’s office said made the chase less rough than it might otherwise have been.
Welty, who is listed as a Cheyenne resident, faces charges of eluding, interference and felony parole violation, with additional local charges expected. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. His first appearance in Albany County Circuit Court is scheduled for June 12, 2026.
Albany County covers roughly 4,300 to 4,500 square miles and has about 37,000 residents, according to the sheriff’s office. The department has 46 sworn law enforcement officers and 8 civilian support personnel, a small staffing base for a county that includes wide-open country around Albany, Centennial and Fox Creek, where a fleeing vehicle can cover ground quickly before help arrives.
The arrest came as another reminder that stop-stick tactics remain part of how Albany County deputies and state troopers handle pursuits when drivers refuse to stop. In this case, that coordination kept the chase from becoming a crash scene on the county’s rural roads.
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