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Two men were sentenced to prison by the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill on Monday – melded to prison terms they were already serving. Kozisek sentenced Joshua A Boettcher, 29, of Stuart to 12 months in the Nebraska Department of Corrections on each of two felony convictions of possessing controlled substances. The prison sentences are ordered concurrent to each other and to a sentence Boettcher is serving for Holt County crimes committed in July 2019. In addition, Kozisek sentenced Boettcher to a 12-month...
SANDY SCHROTH sschroth@ summerlandadvocate.com Three O'Neill residents were sentenced by the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom in O'Neill last Monday, April 12. Fifty-four-year-old Andrew F. Clark was sentenced to not less than 18, nor more than 30 months, in an institution under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, on a Class 2 felony count, criminal attempt of possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited person. Additionally, Clark was sentenced to not less than 12, nor more than...
The Appropriations Committee advanced their finalized recommendations for the Fiscal Year 2021-22 and 2022-23 biennial budget to the full Legislature. First-round debate took place this past week and all bills were advanced unanimously except LB383, dealing with capital construction. Under the $9.7 billion biennial budget proposal, the two-year average estimated revenue growth is 3.0%, whereas the two-year average growth in spending is just 1.6%. The committee was able to control the growth of spending due to a higher federal match for...
Madeleine Grant and Brooke Wrage Nebraska News Service LINCOLN--Nebraska lawmakers continue to push for marijuana legislation this session. On Feb. 19, the Nebraska Legislature Judiciary Committee heard six bills relating to the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana. Substance possession penalties State senators are considering a bill to change the penalty for controlled substance possession. LB 287, was introduced by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha to lessen penalties for possession of unusable amounts of controlled substances under the...
Wesley D. Hattula, 21, formerly of Oakdale, who had spent the previous nine plus months locked up in the Antelope County Jail on a $100,000, 10% cash bond, faced the Honorable Mark Kozisek for sentencing on two felonies last Wednesday. Johnson sentenced Hattula, to a term of not more than 16 years, nor less than 10 years, in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, on Count I, incest with person under 18, a Class 2A felony, giving him credit for 279 days previously served. On Count III, possession o...
Joshua A. Boettcher, 29, of Stuart was sentenced to 18 months in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services for a July 2019 crime. Boettcher was sentenced by the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom Jan. 22. “Your prior history of criminal behavior is a concern…it began when you were a juvenile and has continued more or less consistently since,” Kozisek said, while reviewing sentencing guidelines with Boettcher. “Placing blame on your victim flies in the face of the facts…y...
Two area men were sent to the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex at Lincoln last week for crimes committed in Holt County. Kip V. Polston, 42, of Elgin appeared before the Honorable Mark Kozisek in the Holt County district courtroom in O’Neill for sentencing Jan. 11. Kozisek sentenced Polston to two years in a facility under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, with credit for six days previously served. He was also fined $500 and assessed $139 costs of prosecution. Provided he loses none of his good t...
The Honorable Mark Johnson denied an incarcerated man’s request for an amended sentence when he presided over the Antelope County district court last Wednesday, Nov. 25, in Neligh. Robert Wagle, 36, is currently imprisoned at the Diagnostic and Evaluation Center in Lincoln, under the jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. He was sentenced Sept. 30, by Johnson, to serve four to eight years for a Class 2A felony theft conviction. He was given credit for eight days previously served. The sentence was ordered c...
A former Holt County resident was sentenced to three three-year prison terms for felony convictions and three one-year terms for misdemeanor convictions, all committed in Holt County, beginning more than three years ago. Jeff A. Dolberg, 45, was sentenced by the Honorable Karin Noakes on Monday, June 29, in Holt County district court. Noakes began presiding over the case after the Honorable Mark Kozisek recused himself, pursuant to a motion filed on Dolberg’s behalf by his attorney, Rodney Smith of O’Neill. The motion to disqualify cited Koz...
The Appropriations Committee presented its recommendations for the budget to the Legislature this past week. Budget bills were also given first-round approval from the Legislature. Over the interim, the financial status of the current biennium has improved significantly. The variance from the minimum General Fund reserve was estimated at only $0.2 million when we adjourned last year, but has since grown to $133.8 million. Furthermore, the rainy day fund increased from $322.4 million to $731...
Budd D. Sholes, 40, of Norfolk was sentenced last week in Holt County district court for December 2018 and January 2019 crimes committed in Holt County. The Honorable Mark Kozicek ordered Sholes to serve four terms in a facility under jurisdiction of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. If he loses none of his good time, Sholes must serve 15 months, less five days credited for time served in the county jail, before becoming eligible for parole, and 60 months (five years), less five days, before mandatory release. Sholes pleaded...