Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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ace, we can all agree on that. And it's a very difficult place to manage, given that many inmates don't want to be there and have histories of violence, deception and mental illnesses. But inmates sent there shouldn't end up dead, unless they're sentenced to life in prison or given the death penalty for especially heinous murders. That – death – has been the result for at least three inmates in recent years who were placed in the same cell with another prisoner in solitary confinement cel...
A young Holt County man will spend more time in the state prison. Ethan J. Peterson, 20, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, Lincoln, who was. already serving consecutive sentences from Holt and Pierce counties, was back in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill last Monday, Aug. 12, to be sentenced for crimes committed Dec. 15, 2023. The Honorable Mark Kozisec sentenced Peterson to 24 months in prison on each of four Class 4 felony counts, possession of a destructive device, possession of cocaine, possession of m...
Two defendants waived their rights to counsel, admitted to committing offenses and were fined by the Honorable Donna Taylor when they appeared in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh on July 17. Taylor Hasebroock, 19, of Oakdale was fined the statutory amount, $300, for possession of marijuana, $10 for possession of drug paraphernalia and $49 costs. She was cited when she was stopped May 14 by a Nebraska State Patrol officer for speeding. Cole R. Aschoff, 26, of Plainview was fined $100 for each of two counts of no proof of financial...
Shane R. Farrier, 32, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, did not appear for preliminary hearing, as scheduled in the Antelope County courtroom in Neligh last week on a theft allegation but his attorney, Antelope County public defender Pat Carney did. Carney advised that his client had been sentenced out of Platte County district court and is now in the custody of the department of corrections. An oral motion to continue was sustained. The Honorable Donna Taylor continued the hearing to July 17, with an order to transport pending....
Donald M. Santacroce, 66, of Rapid City, South Dakota, appeared in front of the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill on June 3, to be sentenced for his conviction of theft by unlawful taking, $1,500-$4,999. Kozisec sentenced Santacroce to 254-255 days in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, with credit given for 135 days previously served. Taking good time into account, Santacroce was entitled to immediate release. He was taxed $275.23 costs of prosecution. S...
Two South Dakota men were sentenced to prison last Wednesday, March 27, by the Honorable James Kube in the Antelope County district courtroom at the courthouse in Neligh. Christopher Barta, 29, Irene, was sentenced for aiding the consumption of a felony. Kube sentenced Barta to one year in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, the maximum jail sentence allowed for the Class 4 felony. He must serve at least six months before his mandatory release. Barta received credit for 65 days previously...
A 19-year-old O’Neill man, originally accused of committing 11 crimes last April, was sentenced to prison for five of the offenses last week in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill. The Honorable Mark Kozisec sentenced Ethan J. Peterson to imprisonment under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for a period of 24 months, with credit for 54 days already served, on Count I, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class 3A felony; 12 months, with credit for 54 days, on Count II, pos...
An Auburn man will spend at least the next three years in prison after hitting and injuring an Atkinson police officer in May 2023. Jacob L. McVay, 23, of Auburn faced the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill on Monday to be sentenced for three crimes - Count I, assault officer/health care professional, a Class 1D felony; Count II, terroristic threats, a Class 3A felony; and Count III, driving under the influence of alcohol – cause serious bodily injury, a Class 3A felony. Originally charged with 11 counts, fi...
Omaha Senator Justin Wayne, chair of the Judiciary Committee, has offered a bill that would put Nebraska's Legislature in charge of the state's prison system, which is currently under the purview of the executive branch. Given the way things have been going with the Department of Correctional Services, especially the selection of a site for a new prison in northeast Lincoln that was changed to an allegedly more acceptable site at the last minute, I like Wayne's proposal. If made law, it would pu...
So, this is prison reform? At this point, it's something and we'll cling to every little bit of it while the Republican majority anticipates the building of a new prison, which will do little, if anything, to alleviate overcrowding An omnibus bill sponsored by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne and signed into law by Governor Jim Pillen creates several programs intended to improve the state's criminal justice system, including a program to expand problem-solving courts, a pilot program to establish parole-...
With less than two weeks left in the session, the 108th Legislature is dragging an overburdened $12.975 billion budget to the finish line. Passing the budget is the only thing lawmakers are constitutionally required to accomplish. As introduced by the Appropriations Committee, the budget proposal would result in a projected ending balance of almost $715 million above the 3% required minimum reserve. This amount would be available to fund proposals pending before the Legislature this session....
This week saw the Legislature debate the mainline state budget. The latest projections from the Economic Forecasting Board lowered revenue projections for the current fiscal year by $80 million to $6.36 billion. The adjustment was based on anticipated decrease of $200 million in individual income, sales and use tax receipts, offset in part by projected increases of $120 million in corporate and miscellaneous tax receipts. Total projected revenue receipts for Fiscal Year 2023-24, however, were ra...
The Legislature's Appropriations Committee has signed off on providing the funds to build a $366 million prison in the Lincoln-Omaha area just as the Department of Corrections brings on a new director who appears to favor programming and investing in the humanity of the incarcerated. That brings some hope to a small but fierce band of senators who don't think building is the best way out of the problem for the nation's most overcrowded prison system. The money is a big part of the budget which...
Dennis J. Nekolite Jr., 33, of O’Neill appeared in front of the Honorable Mark Kozisec to be sentenced for his conviction of 13 crimes committed between May 26 and July 27, 2022, including five felonies, six misdemeanors and two infractions. Nekolite was sentenced to an institution under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, with the jail sentences imposed on counts I -III, V-IX and XI-XII to be served concurrently and the sentence on Count X to be served consecutively to the others. The sentences for counts I...
Noe A. Macias, 34, of O’Neill will spend at least the next three and one-half years in prison. He appeared in front of the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill last week for sentencing on Count I, a Class 1D felony, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and two Class 1 misdemeanors, Count II, third-degree domestic assault and Count III, obstructing a peace officer. On Count I, Kozisec sentenced Macias to not less than five nor more than 10 years imprisonment under the jurisdiction of the Neb...
There’s been a lot of talk about preserving the officially nonpartisan nature of the Nebraska Legislature. But there is another issue, occasionally discussed with similar zeal in years past, that’s creeping up again. (Gasp!) It’s the urban-rural split. While the focus has been on party loyalty – there are 32 Republicans and 17 Democrats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature – there are also 26 “urban” lawmakers (18 from Omaha and 8 from Lincoln) to just 23 “rural” senators. That reflects the shift of two rural districts, 49 and 36) to the O...
Justin M. Golter of Orchard will spend at least four years in prison for a crime committed more than two years ago. Golter, 47, faced the Honorable Mark Johnson in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh on Nov. 30, for sentencing. Golter faced up to 50 years of incarceration for his conviction of a Class 1D felony, possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, committed Aug. 13, 2020. Antelope County attorney Joe Abler brought to the judge’s attention incidents that occurred after Golter’s Aug. 31 conviction, when he fled the...
A 23-year-old O'Neill man was sentenced, Nov. 21, to decades in prison for causing the death of his 13-month-old son in July 2021. John T. Applegarth was sentenced by the Honorable Mark Kozisec, in the Holt County district courtroom in O'Neill, to not less than 30 years, nor more than 40 years in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. He was given credit for 463 days served in jail since his arrest and was taxed $147 costs of prosecution. Charges...
Joshua J. Speth, 39, of O’Neill was sentenced Oct. 24 by the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district court in O’Neill on four counts committed July 9, 2021. Kozisec sentenced Speth to 36 months in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services and 15 years revocation of his driver’s license for a Class 3 felony count of driving under the influence of alcohol, high test, two previous convictions. The charge was reduced from a Class 2 felony (three previous convictions) per terms of a May plea...
Sammie M. Diaz, 43, of Clovis, New Mexico, appeared in front of the Honorable Mark Johnson in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh on Oct. 26, for sentencing on a 2014 theft charge. Antelope County prosecutor Joe Abler joined a probation recommendation made in a presentence investigative report prepared by the probation office. Diaz’ attorney, Martin Klein of Neligh, told the judge his client would ask for a fine but the presentence investigative report recommended probation. He said Diaz was an appropriate candidate for p...
The Honorable Mark Johnson found three defendants guilty, when he presided over Antelope County district court Wednesday, May 25, in Neligh. Andrew F. Sternberg, 32, of Creighton faced Johnson for pretrial hearing on two Class 2A felony counts, theft by unlawful taking, more than $5,000, and unauthorized use of a financial transaction device, more than $5,000. Sternberg pleaded guilty to Count II, pursuant to a plea agreement with Antelope County prosecutor Joe Abler, who dismissed the theft charge and agreed to recommend probation at...
Brian G. Tibbens, 51, of Elgin, appeared in front of the Honorable Mark Johnson in the Antelope County district courtroom in Neligh last Wednesday, April 27, for a restitution hearing and sentencing on a Class 2A felony, first-degree assault. Antelope County prosecutor Joe Abler called Cynthia Cadena to the witness stand. Cadena testified that her husband, Frank Cadena, the victim of Tibbens’ assault, had been unable to work, going without pay for two weeks following the September 2021 assault. She also answered questions regarding medical b...
Randy J. Aime, 57, of O’Neill was placed on probation for five years for third-degree domestic assault, subsequent offense, a Class 3A felony, committed Oct. 17, 2021. Aime was sentenced Monday, April 11, by the Honorable Mark Kozisec in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill. Terms of probation include continuing outpatient services until discharged by the provider, attend at least two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week, obtain a sponsor and, due to the recurrent nature of the offense, explore mental health symptoms. He was als...
In 2011, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services wrote a bill that would allow well-behaved prisoners the chance to shorten their time behind bars. Eleven years later, that same department is applying the resulting law in a way neither the state senator who sponsored the bill nor the then-director of Nebraska’s prisons intended. Prison officials now shorten a prisoner’s final release date, but never change the day that prisoner becomes eligible for parole. The result: Thousands of prisoners sentenced under the law have potentially sta...
Kyle R. Boettcher, 33, of Stuart appeared before the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom Dec. 27, for sentencing on two Class 4 felonies. Kozisek sentenced Boettcher to 24 months in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, for operation of a motor vehicle to avoid arrest and 24 months, for possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), to be served concurrently. He was given credit for 86 days served in the county jail prior to sentencing. He was taxed $149 costs...
