Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 426 - 450 of 467
Christofer N. Carstens, 21, of Oakdale was found guilty of felony child abuse last Wednesday when he appeared before the Honorable Mark Johnson in the Antelope County district court in Neligh. A plea agreement was reached, resulting in Carstens pleading no contest to the crime in exchange for prosecutor, Joe Abler’s agreement to file no further charges in the case and to recommend no more than 20 years imprisonment at sentencing, which is set April 29. Johnson ordered a presentence investigation report. Accused of injuring his infant d...
Jeremy J. Mathrole, 40, appeared in Antelope County court last week for arraignment on two violations of the Sex Offender Registration Act. Due to previous violation convictions, the allegations are Class 3A felonies. Mathrole requested court-appointed counsel. Presiding judge Donna Taylor found him indigent and appointed Carney, setting a preliminary hearing March 4. He reappeared later in the day with Carney, who requested bond be reduced from $10,000, 10%, and conditions amended to allow Mathrole to travel to Kentucky where he previously...
The Antelope County commissioners were faced with issues arising from two recent road decisions when they met last Tuesday, Feb. 11, at the courthouse in Neligh. Working through the agenda, commissioners examined and approved payroll and vendor claims, all with an eye on the clock, completing their work before noon. A quorum for the afternoon was at risk, due to two commissioners indicating afternoon obligations elsewhere and commissioner Regina Krebs' absence. Casey Dittrich, who has served as Antelope County road boss for the last four...
An Oakdale man has removed his case from the Antelope County court, at least temporarily. Garrett Hill, 23, was scheduled for sentencing on two misdemeanor traffic counts last Wednesday, Feb. 5. He filed documents to appeal his conviction to the Nebraska Supreme Court on Jan. 29, along with several other writs. The Honorable Donna Taylor denied his application to proceed informa pauperis with the appeal, ruling it is procedurally frivolous. She then informed Hill he had 30 days to come up with the $126 filing fee. Hill confirmed it was his...
A Neligh man was sent to jail by the Honorable Donna Taylor last Wednesday for repeatedly circumventing an ignition interlock device ordered in a Pierce County sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol. Kasey Swyear, 28, was convicted in three Antelope County cases, after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutor Joe Abler. In the first case, Swyear changed his not guilty pleas to guilty on two counts committed Aug. 24, driving a vehicle without an interlock, a Class 1 misdemeanor, and speeding, 82 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone, an...
A 78-year-old Tilden man was arrested Saturday, on allegations of sexual contact with five under-aged females. Tilden Police Chief, Robert Peterson, and Officer Randall Arrison, arrested Roger Stuckwisch, 78, at his residence in Tilden. Stuckwisch appeared in Antelope County Court, Feb. 5, for arraignment. Wednesday, he was charged with five counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, Class IB felonies and seven counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child, Class IIIA felonies. A Class 1B felony is punishable by a sentence of 20 years...
Holt County citizens filled the county supervisors’ meeting room in the courthouse last Friday morning as the county leaders took care of business. Bryan Steskal of Steskal read a letter penned by his wife, Diana Steskal, who was unable to attend the meeting. In the letter, Steskal wrote the Holt County zoning board members denied TransCanada’s conditional use permit until two conditions are met, including one that requires obtaining easements. Many, she said will most likely be appealed. She also cited three federal court cases filed aga...
A 78-year-old Tilden man was arrested Saturday, on allegations of sexual contact with five under-aged females. Tilden Police Chief, Robert Peterson, and Officer Randall Arrison, arrested Roger Stuckwisch, 78, at his residence in Tilden. Stuckwisch appeared in Antelope County Court, Feb. 5, for arraignment. Wednesday, he was charged with five counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, Class IB felonies and seven counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child, Class IIIA felonies. A Class 1B felony is punishable by a sentence of 20 years...
The Honorable Mark Johnson, one of two judges who serve the seventh judicial district of Nebraska, took the bench in the Antelope County courtroom last Wednesday, Jan. 29. Johnson and the Honorable James Kube alternate annually as presiding judges in the Antelope County district court. Johnson sentenced a Pierce County woman to three consecutive jail terms for felony convictions. Karen R. Stewart, 46, of Osmond will spend 120 days in the Antelope County Jail, providing she loses no good time. She was sentenced to 180 days for a conviction of...
An Oakdale man was convicted of two crimes last Wednesday during a trial to the bench at the Antelope County courthouse in Neligh. Twenty-three-year-old self-litigant defendant Garrett A.H. Hill faced the Honorable Donna Taylor in the last case on the Jan. 15 docket. With other court activity wrapped up for the day, the courtroom was mostly clear, with the exception of a woman who accompanied the defendant, court staff, local media and several law enforcement officers - from the Nebraska State Patrol, Antelope County sheriff’s and Neligh p...
Several defendants were arraigned and/or sentenced by the Honorable Donna Taylor, when she presided over Antelope County court in Neligh last Wednesday, Jan. 15. Andrew C. Schumacher, 40, of Columbus faced Taylor for arraignment and a motion to suppress on a Class W misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, second offense. A plea agreement reached in the case resulted in the charge being amended to DUI, first offense, withdrawal of the motion to suppress and a joint recommend...
Two defendants waived their rights to preliminary hearings and were bound over to Antelope County district court when they faced the Honorable Donna Taylor in county court Monday, Jan. 13. Robert E. Wagle, 35, of Summerville, South Carolina, appeared on three charges, Count I, theft by unlawful taking, more than $5,000, a Class 2A felony; Count II, first-degree false imprisonment, a Class 3A felony; and Count III, operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest, a Class 4 felony, all alleged Dec. 5. Antelope County attorney Joe Abler dismissed Count...
The Holt County supervisors met Monday, Dec. 16, in front of a crowd of concerned citizens. Agenda items regarding a TC Energy road-haul agreement and some township road concerns drew the visitors. The supervisors heard an update on a bronze statue planned for the courthouse lawn by the “Finian Women.” They are a group headed by daughters of longtime Holt County resident, Doc Cook, who referred to himself as a Finian, according to county clerk Cathy Pavel. Natalie Cook Butterfield addressed the leaders regarding fundraising and planned placemen...
Joey Crooker, 37, incarcerated in the county jail, changed his plea when he faced the Honorable James Kube for a pretrial hearing last week in the Antelope County district courtroom. Crooker was charged with one felony count, first-degree sexual assault, alleged June 29 at a Grove Lake campground. Crooker, who is represented by Antelope County public defender Patrick Carney, and prosecutor Joe Abler reached a plea agreement. Terms of the agreement included Abler reducing the charge to third-degree sexual assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor, in...
The Honorable James Kube granted continuances in three cases when Antelope County District Court met last week. Douglas D. Carpenter,43, of Neligh appeared with his attorney Ryon Stover of Norfolk, for a pretrial hearing on information to revoke probation. He was sentenced, in December 2018, to a one-year term of probation on an assault conviction. Violation of the terms of probation are alleged Sept. 1, when Carpenter was arrested in Neligh on charges of disturbing the peace and resisting...
The Honorable James Kube presided over Antelope County district court last week in the final 2019 session. The Honorable Mark Johnson will serve Antelope County in 2020. Kube arraigned two individuals on felony charges. Matthew C. Waters, 34, a South Dakota man currently held in the Antelope County Jail, faced the judge on two counts related to a multi-county pursuit that ended near Royal in November. He is charge with two Class 4 felonies, attempted assault on a law enforcement officer with a...
The Antelope County commissioners postponed action on an agenda item requested by Andy Frey, Elm Township road closures follow-up, sending a half-dozen county residents away without resolution. The commissioners held public hearings Sept. 3 on proposals to close two segments of county road. Both closure requests, one mile of 848 Road, from one-half mile east of 529 Avenue to one-half mile east of 530; and one-half mile of 847 Road, were petitioned by Frey. Brian McDonald, county engineer,...
Robert E. Wagle, 35, of Summerville, South Carolina, appeared before the Honorable Ross Stoffer on Monday in Wayne County court, telephonically from the Antelope County Law Enforcement Center in Neligh, where he is currently held. Stoffer appointed Kathleen Jorgensen of Wayne as counsel but advised Wagle he may be responsible for all or part of the cost at a later date. Further arraignment on eight counts is set for Jan. 6 in the Wayne courtroom. Stoffer also ruled, due to Wagle's difficulty...
Arguing a case “before” a judge came with a twist in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday. An Oakdale resident started the process before he was called to face the judge, when he questioned bailiff Lyle Juracek regarding instructions for those entering the courtroom to turn off cell phones. The man claimed a constitutional right to have his device turned on. When he was called to face the Honorable Donna Taylor, he continued to argue his constitutional rights, this time asking the “nature of the charges” and if she was ope...
The Honorable Donna Taylor cleared a dozen cases from the Antelope County court docket during a busy morning last Wednesday, Dec. 4. Alexander E. Huffman, 33, of Neligh appeared without counsel for arraignment on a count of disturbing the peace, a Class 3 misdemeanor committed Dec. 2, in Neligh. Huffman waived his right to counsel and pleaded guilty. Huffman told Taylor he “got way too drunk and wanted to go to Valley Hope,” and although he couldn’t afford it, he was determined to drive there, which “would have been a very bad idea,” he said....
A 34-year-old Colton, South Dakota man, who led multiple law enforcement agencies on a pursuit across northeast Nebraska last Monday, made his first appearance in the Antelope County courtroom on Wednesday. Matthew D. Waters faced the Honorable Donna Taylor briefly on two Class 4 felony counts, attempted assault on an officer with a motor vehicle and operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest. Waters requested court-appointed counsel. Taylor held an indigency hearing, appointed public defender...
The Honorable Donna Taylor had a busy day in court last Wednesday, when she passed sentence on 11 individuals in the Antelope County courtroom at Neligh. Taylor sent Twila Guggenmos, 59, of Oakdale to the Antelope County Jail to serve a 10-day sentence for a conviction of reckless driving, with credit given for one day previously served. The judge further ordered the $135 bond fee held by the county be applied to $141.61 costs, and the balance be paid prior to release, or sit out an extra day...
With a full board seated at the table, the Antelope County commissioners addressed dust issues on a county road for the second week in a row. Commissioners Carolyn Pedersen and Regina Krebs, who were appointed to fill vacancies the week prior, were sworn into office by Linda Mitchell, Antelope County court magistrate, prior to the nearly six-hour meeting at the courthouse in Neligh last Tuesday, Nov. 12. Tension appeared as issues arose regarding timing of agenda disbursement to commissioners,...
The Honorable Donna Taylor sentenced several defendants when she presided over Antelope County court Wednesday, Nov. 6. Falisha A. Dewey, 31, of Afton, Missouri, appeared for arraignment on a Class 1 misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault, related to an incident at the Riverside Park campground in Neligh on July 31. Dewey, represented by Patrick Carney, Antelope County public defender, pleaded no contest to a charge of third-degree assault, fight by mutual consent, reduced pursuant to terms of a plea agreement with Joe Abler, Antelope Count...
The Honorable James Kube gave his stamp of approval on two plea agreements in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, Oct. 31. Karen R. Stewart, 46, of Osmond, accompanied by public defender Martin Klein of Neligh, appeared on charges in four cases, two new cases and two dating back to 2018. In the first case, she faced a charge of possession of methamphetamine, alleged June 30, 2018, in eastern Antelope County, near Plainview. The second case involved another...
