MORAN, Wyo. — A husband and wife were arrested Monday after they allegedly chased a woman with a handgun and attacked her with bear spray in the Pacific Creek campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
According to court documents, Shannon and Ben Dewitt of South Dakota allegedly attacked a woman driving along Pacific Creek near their campsite. Teton County Sheriff’s Department responded to the incident on Forest Road 30090, at the north end of the Bridger-Teton National Forest near campsites 1, 2 and 3 at around 2:30 p.m. Monday.
The alleged victim had misplaced her hat while on a horseback ride and was driving back over the route to look for it. Her children were in the back seat of her SUV and her husband was on foot, when the Dewitts noticed her on a remote camera near camping spot 4, where their camper was parked.
The couple drove their truck to find the alleged victim and reached her as she approached camping spots 1-3, blocking her in by parking in front of her, according to the report filed with the court. Ben Dewitt then got out of the truck and walked toward her, and she noticed a handgun holstered on his hip, reporting that he had an angry grimace on his face and appeared agitated.
The alleged victim then tried to drive away, maneuvering off the road into the sagebrush to get past the truck. Ben Dewitt banged on her window before firing two rounds from his gun into the ground and then spraying her with bear spray through an open window. She heard more gunshots behind her as she drove away.
The woman reported that Ben Dewitt got back into his truck and proceeded to follow her as she drove away, ending his pursuit after about a mile.
Law enforcement later found five shell casings at the scene and tire marks that corroborated the woman’s story of where the vehicles had been.
Shannon and Ben Dewitt, who later admitted to firing his gun, were taken into custody. Each were charged with felonies, Ben Dewitt with both false imprisonment and aggravated assault and battery, and Shannon Dewitt with aggravated assault, according to court documents.
