Casper Man Accused of Skipping Out on $50 Kratom Delivery, Faces 2nd Felony Theft Charge This Year

The original story by Greg Hirst  for Oil City News.

A Casper man with a long history of theft convictions is facing another felony charge after police say he had Kratom delivered to his apartment, took the product and then slammed the door without paying.

The suspect, 54-year-old Matthew Lincoln Fiscus, is charged with fifth-or-subsequent-offense felony theft. He’s also facing an interference charge. He is presumed innocent unless found or pleading guilty.

According to a report by Casper Police Officer Andrew Hamilton, a delivery driver called police around 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1. The driver said Fiscus had ordered $50 worth of Kratom — a legal, opiate-like product often sold in vape and CBD shops — and arranged to pay cash on delivery.

Instead, when the driver showed up, Fiscus allegedly handed him an empty bottle of the same product, shut the door, and refused to open it again.

This wasn’t Fiscus’ first run-in over Kratom.

Earlier this year, he was charged after reportedly running out of Black Market Vapes with two full display cases of Kratom products. That case, originally filed as a theft of more than $1,000, was later pleaded down to a misdemeanor, but Fiscus was ordered to pay about $1,400 in restitution by Aug. 30, and serve 30 days in jail.

Court records say a notice for a Nov. 11 order-to-show-cause hearing — basically a “why didn’t you pay?” hearing — was mailed out, but Fiscus didn’t show up. That failure to appear helped lead to an active warrant.

When officers went to Fiscus’ apartment on the new theft report, the building manager let them borrow a key after learning about the warrant.

Police say Fiscus refused to answer the door, and they didn’t find him in their initial sweep of the unit. Eventually, they spotted him hiding behind the bedroom door.

According to the affidavit, Fiscus allegedly tried to dump a bottle of Kratom into his mouth as officers confronted him. Officer Hamilton wrote that he swatted the bottle away before Fiscus could swallow it all.

Fiscus was arrested and taken to jail.

The next day in circuit court, a judge set a $3,000 cash or surety bond and also ordered Fiscus to serve five days in jail to help satisfy the unpaid restitution from his previous theft case.